


The Doctor, the Divine, and the Dungeon

by LizAnn_5869



Series: Prompts and Requests [86]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Bad Wolf Rose Tyler, Dimension Cannon, Dimension-Hopping Rose, Episode Fix-It: s04e13 Journey's End, Episode Fix-It: s4e09 Forest of the Dead, F/M, Forced Wedding, Humor, Light Angst, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Episode: s04e06 The Doctor's Daughter, Reunion Fic, Reunions, TARDIS takes them where they need to go, The TARDIS' POV, Tumblr Prompt, donna gets her reunion too, donna keeps her memories, first story of a series, no bad wolf bay 2, timepetalscollective prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-08 22:35:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13467981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizAnn_5869/pseuds/LizAnn_5869
Summary: The Doctor and Donna decide to take a much needed holiday on a peaceful beach.  The TARDIS has other plans for them, and it changes both of their lives forever.





	1. The Doctor and Donna Take a Holiday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blueboxesandtrafficcones](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueboxesandtrafficcones/gifts).



> I saw this prompt on Timepetalscollective: Ten/Rose Reunion!Fic The Doctor and Donna land in this planet where they wanna force the Doctor to marry their queen and goddess, which he is totally against, until he finds out who the goddess is...  
> I started writing it shortly after I saw it, but time and writer's block got in the way and finally, I was able to get going on it again! The story is not canon-compliant. There won't be a Bad Wolf Bay 2, or a Tentoo. I love writing Tentoo x Rose, but this prompt seemed to best for Ten and Rose reuniting. Basically, this story is an excuse to give out some happy endings.  
> I would like to thank rose--nebula for being an awesome beta, and HelloRoseTyler for reading and offering suggestions. This fic will update on Wednesdays.  
> This should have been blueboxesandtrafficcones' DW Secret Santa, but she ended up with something else so I could get this completely ready.

 

Donna entered the console room and dramatically flopped onto the jump seat, sighing loudly.

 

“Yes?” the Doctor finally asked after some pointed glares directed towards him.  He expected that this was it for his ginger companion.  She'd been through hell.  He'd been through hell.  He expected her to demand to go home, permanently, soon.  They all left, whether they were taken from him too soon or chose on their own.   _ Lucky her.  She'd get to be one of the few that make their own choice,  _ he mused darkly.

 

“Gonna take a kip,” she announced.  “Unless you have some big idea.  Someplace peaceful, I’m thinkin’.  Where I'm treated like a queen and the weather’s warm.” 

 

“Well, don't let me stop your sleeping.  You and your boring human sleep habits,” he sighed.  “I'll do some thinking.  Would Earth be on that list, then?”

 

“Don't want to go home, you know,” she murmured after a while.  “Just thought I'd make that clear.”

 

The Doctor looked up from the control panel he was reassembling and asked, genuinely surprised, “You don't?”

 

“You weren't plannin’ on takin’ me were you?” Donna sat up.

 

“No.  I hadn't thought about you leaving,” he lied.  He suspected Donna realized he was lying when she smirked.

 

“Well, I don't.  I'd much rather keep travelin’.  I might need a break soon...to see Grandad...but not yet.  Need to keep my mind occupied,” she admitted. “Occupied somewhere warm.  With a normal,  _ won't kill me _ sun.”  The Doctor nodded. He was silently grateful she would still be there to keep him occupied.

 

“I'll come up with something brilliant,” he promised. She gave him a sleepy nod and stretched out on the jump seat.  “Wouldn't you be more comfortable in your room?”

 

“M’fine,” she mumbled.  

 

The Doctor understood that as well. He was going on his fifteenth day with no sleep. His daughter Jenny’s last moments still haunted him.   The Library had been an emotional ordeal.  He’d barely saved Donna from being uploaded into the computer forever.  And on top of that, the appearance of River Song, who seemed to know him and his future, had completely mystified him.  She’d hinted, just before she left the Library,  that he was married, that she knew his wife, and his wife had sent her to help him.  He hoped he’d run across the mysterious Dr. Song again, eventually, so he could figure out just who the hell he was supposed to be marrying.  Those thoughts had to be pushed aside, however, because Donna was confused and hurting from a marriage that had been real, but yet hadn’t.  

 

Then Midnight had happened, and both of them were emotionally scarred and exhausted, unable to process all the trauma.  When he allowed himself to sleep, his nightmares were horrendous.  He could only imagine the thoughts that haunted Donna’s dreams.  

 

The Doctor wanted to relax as much as Donna did.  He typed out some coordinates and scrolled through the Gallifreyan symbols rapidly appearing on the screen. Donna dozed on, until the Doctor came up with an amazing, (in his own opinion) idea.  He gave a loud triumphant shout, startling Donna.  She jerked and sat up suddenly, confused, then angry. 

 

“What the bloody hell?” she cried.  The Doctor ignored her ire.

 

“Put on something...beachy, Donna Noble.  We're on holiday!” he announced.  Donna, only barely awake, cast a bleary eye at him.

 

“By ‘holiday’ you mean sittin’ by that pool we hardly ever use while we float in space, right? I'm not runnin’ for my life.”

 

“Alohalarexia Delta!” the Doctor declared triumphantly.

 

Donna, who’d stopped listening at “ _ aloha _ ”, shrieked,  “Hawaii?!”  She jumped up and did a little happy dance.  “I don't mind goin’ back to Earth if we go there!”

 

Slightly miffed about being misunderstood, the Doctor sighed and tried again.  “No, Alohalarexia Delta!  We're just a vortex hop, skip and jump from their 34th Century white sand beaches!  Complete with spa, surfing, swimming, and snacking.” He looked pleased with his alliteration.  “And, since we're going in the 34th century, they've completely eradicated the sand parasites that caused that nasty plague.”  Donna went from interested to aghast in a split second.  “So….safe, as well,” he added, slightly less enthusiastically.  

 

“That's a ringing endorsement,” Donna said flatly.

 

“Well, I thought you'd want to know.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

He clapped his hands at Donna, who was none too thrilled.  “Allons-y, Donna Noble!  Beach time!” He gave her a manic grin,.  Donna saw the sadness behind it, however.  It broke her heart to see him deflecting, in “always alright” mode once again.  

 

“You're tryin’ too hard, y’know,” Donna pointed out, voice unusually gentle as she followed the exuberant Time Lord around the console.

 

“Don't know what you're on about,” he returned breezily.

 

“You don't have anything to make up to me, Doctor.  A few days in will be fine.”  

 

“Ha, I can't believe you'd turn down the chance to shop on a beachside bazaar.  Better than Planet of the Hats, I'd wager.  Let's get beached!”

 

Donna shook her head as he began his frenetic dance around the controls. He punched the coordinates into the navigation computer he crowed happily and announced, “The course is set!”

 

“Whatever you'd like, I suppose,” Donna said, reckoning that he needed the escape as well.  “It’s been a hell of a run lately.  Suppose we could do with some relaxation.”

 

“Oooh….. haven't surfed in ages.  I need to do that again.  Taught Brian Wilson how to surf, did I ever tell you that? Put the “beach” in The Beach Boys, I did….now, Donna…” He waved her away.  “Get your swim costume, hurry up!”

 

Donna rolled her eyes, smiling fondly.  “Are you wearin’ trunks?  God help me, you'll blind me with those white skinny legs of yours!”

 

“I'm wearing my suit,” he told her.  He was a bit shocked she'd think he'd wear anything else.  

 

“Well, good, that'll keep my corneas from fryin’ from the glare of your pale alien skin, Spaceman!”  

 

“Oi, maybe I will wear my Bermuda shorts just for that….”

 

As they bantered, neither noticed that the TARDIS computer screen had begun to flash, having locked onto something.  Nor did the Doctor notice the coordinates change.  It was subtle change, only a couple of numerals, but it was enough for the course to make an abrupt correction.

 

The Doctor stumbled back against the console, spinning around to push buttons and turn dials, trying to steady their flight.  Donna stumbled backwards and sat down hard on the jump seat.  “Well, here we go,” she groused.  “Forget the holiday.”

 

The Doctor pulled himself around to the screen, which at that very moment went blank.  “Oi!” he exclaimed, hitting it. He was rewarded with a shower of sparks as the TARDIS lurched forward again.  

 

“I should've known you couldn't manage a proper holiday if your life depended upon it,” Donna growled.  She let out a rather undignified squeak as the TARDIS landed hard.

 

The Doctor picked himself up from the floor and scanned the console room.  He didn't sense any damage to the ship.  He sent her a sharp, telepathic rebuke and received more sparks.

 

“Where the hell are we?” Donna demanded. “What have you gotten us into this time?”

 

The Doctor swung the monitor around to see it flash back on, revealing water and sand.  “We’re at the beach.”  He was shocked.

 

Donna was incredulous.  “Seriously?  You actually maybe….possibly….got us where we're supposed to be?”

 

“Well, don't look so shocked,” he groused.

 

“Then you stop lookin’ shocked first.”

 

The Doctor stopped gaping like a fish and headed to the door.  “We made it to the beach, just like I planned. Ha!”

 

He opened the TARDIS door and stepped out.  The ship faced the purple ocean, the sun making the waves sparkle like diamonds.  It was breathtaking.

 

Literally so, since Donna gasped as she followed him onto the sand.  “Blimey, Doctor, you got it right! S’ gorgeous!”

 

Suddenly the feeling of _ wrongness  _ washed over him and he held his hand up to silence Donna, already pushing her behind him.  Donna began to rebuke him for the shove but fell silent at the Doctor's expression.  He pressed his tongue to the back of his teeth, stretching out Time senses.  His voice dropping an octave in warning, he muttered.  “No….Donna, get back in the TARDIS, now!”

 

He turned to face his time ship, and before either of them could make a move to step in the doors slammed shut.  “No, no, no, no!” He snapped his fingers.  He tried his key, and Donna's, and the TARDIS remained shut.  Unequivocally, undeniably locked and secure. 

 

Donna looked at him, mouth agape.

 

“Welcome to Alohalarexia Omega, oh….47th century.  Twin planet.”

 

“What the hell does that mean?” 

 

“Well….the good news is that they've also conquered the sand parasites…..”

 

Five men, dressed in black tunics, carrying knives, stepped up to them.  Their skin was pale and sparkling in the sunshine.  All of them looked murderous.

 

“Omega is….um...rather less peaceful than Delta.  Repressive monarchy...pockets of resistance..war...the usual,” the Doctor whispered.

 

“Wizard,” Donna muttered, sighing loudly.

 

The holiday went downhill from there.

 

***********

 

“I shoulda known.  I shoulda realized it from that bumpy damn landing that we're not gonna make it to any beach resort.”  Donna scowled at the guard who had shoved her roughly.  “Oi there, Hercules, I won't have ya shovin’ me! I'm movin as fast I can in these bloody shackles!”

 

The Doctor let Donna have her rant.  He glared at their guards as well, but Donna had the telling-off part well in hand.  He decided to address the criticism of his piloting skills.  “The TARDIS decided we needed to be here, so we're here.”

 

“Oh don't blame your crappy piloting on the TARDIS,” Donna grumbled with an eye roll.

 

“She had to have changed the coordinates on me!  And look, there’s a beach!”  He indicated with a nod of his head, since his hands were rather occupied by the handcuffs. Several meters away, through a copse of thick pine-like trees, they could indeed hear waves rolling in.

 

“Lovely.  And I hope we have a really good view of it while we're being hanged,” Donna growled.

 

“I doubt that they'll hang us, we’ll escape before that. This lot is more into immolation.”  He regretted revealing that bit of information as soon as he said it.

 

“Oh, fan-bloody-tastic!”  Donna shouted.

 

“The woman will be silent!” the guard ordered.

 

“The woman will do no such thing!” Donna snapped.

 

“Good luck with that,” the Doctor added.

 

Donna glared at the guard, who withered a bit.  It was a positive sign that the guards were frightened of Donna but as they were still in handcuffs and leg irons, the guards had the advantage.  Perhaps, if they were put in the same cell they could figure out how to get the sonic out of his pocket.  

  
  


*********

 

The guards shoved Donna and the Doctor into a small cell with one bunk bolted to the wall.  Their leg irons were removed but the handcuffs stayed in place.  As soon as Hercules was out of earshot the Doctor turned to Donna and hissed, “Get in my trouser pocket, and….”

 

“Why would I get in your bloody trouser pocket? Not gonna take part in some weird alien prison mating ritual!”

 

“Are you daft?  Did you receive a blow to the head? Get in my pocket and get the sonic and we can try to get out of this place!” the Doctor hissed back.  “Really, Donna.  We've been in prison cells together before and have I ever attempted a ‘weird alien prison mating ritual?’ I shudder to think what you'd imagine that being…..oi, there, watch it!”

 

Donna had plunged her hand into his pocket, as far as she could with the handcuff in the way.  She grabbed something and pulled out a large striped beach towel.  “How is that even in there?” she marveled. “Your trousers are painted on.  And you're a bloody matchstick…..”

 

“Transdimensional pockets.  Now focus!”

 

“I thought that was just the coat!  It's your trousers too? Blimey.”

 

“Focus!”

 

Donna fished around.

 

“I hear the guards, come on!”

 

“Ah ha!  Got it!”

 

“Can you do the settings?” he asked, trying not to sound desperate.

 

“Oh, sure, behind my back, with the convenient eyes in the back of my head.  When you add that  _ wood _ setting you might consider voice activation!”

 

“I'll take that into consideration if we're not burned to a crisp by sunset.  Now pass it off to me!”

 

The Doctor had barely spoken the words before Hercules returned with a tall man dressed in white board shorts.  He had several flower leis around his neck and a crown of what appeared to be turquoise hibiscus on his head.  Hercules opened the cell and relieved the Doctor of his sonic screwdriver. 

 

The Doctor tried not to groan.

 

“Here are the intruders,” Hercules grunted.

 

“Intruders, ha.  That's how you treat your tourists?  You'll get a bad review from me,” Donna growled, more to keep up appearances than anything.

 

The man in the shorts and Hercules appeared humanoid, save for their pale skin, which glittered in the dim light. Donna noted this and made comments about “glittery Twilight vampires” under her breath until the Doctor discretely kicked the toe of her trainer.  

 

“I am Alman, the tribal shaman,” the man in the shorts announced.

 

“I am the Doctor,” the Doctor announced grimly.  You would be wise to release my companion and me.”

 

Alman was not impressed.  “You'll be scanned and processed as any other prisoner.”

 

“That went well,” Donna sneered.  

 

Alman held up a metal tube twice the size of the sonic.  He triggered it and a blue light appeared in a corona around Donna, who squeaked.

 

“It tickles!” she exclaimed, but she didn't laugh.  

 

“Human, 21st century.  Nothing special,” Alman determined.

 

“Oi!” Donna groused.

 

“You're sadly mistaken if you underestimate her,” the Doctor growled.  The corona appeared around him.  

 

“He is...pure time,” Alman gasped.

 

“I am a Time Lord, the last of my kind, and you will release us immediately!”

 

Hercules’ eyes widened.  “Is he the one….?”

 

“The Golden Goddess spoke of one who would come to us, the Lord of Time!  You are the one!”

 

“You're gonna make his head swell,” Donna groused.

 

The Doctor smirked.  “I am.  Now let us go.”

 

“Too late,” Donna sighed.

 

“It is as she foretold,” Alman sighed.  

 

The Doctor smiled at Donna, his eyebrow quirking.  Expecting to be released, the Doctor was shocked to feel the leg irons clamped back onto his ankles.  Donna was protesting loudly as Hercules replaced hers as well.

 

“What the bloody hell!  He’s a Time Lord!  That has to count for somethin’!”

 

“We will take him to the Goddess,” Hercules told Alman.  “The prophecy will be fulfilled when the one infused with time unites with the golden goddess!  They will be wed at the sun’s peak!”

 

“Be wed?  I am not wedding anyone.  I'm not the marrying kind. Particularly if it involves large burning  pyres and intense pain.  Don't do weddings at all, as a rule.  Last one I attended nearly ended the world.”

 

“The wedding preparations must begin immediately!” Hercules announced, cutting across the Doctor's rambling.

 

“I don't believe you're listening to me,” the Doctor interjected.  Donna snorted.

 

“Take this one to another cell so we can properly prepare the Lord of Time to wed the Golden Goddess!” Alman demanded.

 

“Blimey, you don't sound half pretentious,” Donna scoffed.  “Paws off if you don't mind!” Hercules had grasped her upper arm.

 

“Donna goes too!  She stays with me!” the Doctor ordered.  

 

“Remember, the Goddess said he wouldn't be alone,” Alman reminded him.

 

“Right!  Constant companion, that's me! Where he goes I go!” Donna argued.

 

“We’ll take them both.  The Goddess will be pleased!”

 

Hercules herded them from the cell, the sonic secure in his utility belt.  “And if he gives us any resistance, we have her as leverage.”

 

Donna turned wide, scared eyes to the Doctor and murmured,  “So I guess we're being sacrificed to the Goddess together, yeah?”

 

“Looks like it,” the Doctor said, his voice tight.

 

“You have a plan, correct?”

 

The Doctor swallowed.  “S’ work in progress.  I have to see what the situation is once we get there.”

 

Donna rolled her eyes.  “So, nothing, basically.  You think we’ll be sautéed lightly or extra crispy?”

 

Moments later another guard, who looked rather cowed by Donna’s intense glare, brought the Doctor a gold glittering robe.  

 

“You...you shall disrobe and then...erm...re-robe with this,” the quavering guard told the Doctor.

 

Donna made a noise of disgust and the Doctor side-eyed her.  “I'll wear it over the suit.  Goes with everything.  Groom’s prerogative.”  The guard glanced back at Donna, decided she was feral, and thrust the robes through the bars.  With that, he marched away.  

 

The Doctor inspected the robes.  “Eh….I've worn worse.”

 

*******

 

They were shepherded to the beach area an hour later.  Donna was not relieved by the sight of a large stack of lumber in a fire pit area to the left of a large flower covered pergola. “At least we go out in style,” she sighed, resigned.  

 

The Doctor murmured, “I was expecting a shrine to the golden goddess.”

 

“We can lodge a complaint before they strike the match,” Donna snarked.  

 

“Something’s off about this….”the Doctor muttered. His Time senses were tingling.  Something, someone was coming.  He could feel it in the timeline.  

 

He ignored Donna’s muttered “ya think?” as a commotion at the other end of the long pergola attracted his attention.

 

A woman was being brought out, dressed in identical sumptuous red and golden robes.  Her back was to him, and she was arguing with the guards around her.  Her awkward gait suggested leg irons, which was a most unusual way to treat a goddess.  

 

But that wasn't the main reason his attention was piqued.  The way this Goddess held herself was familiar.  He could hear her voice, angrily lecturing the guards.

 

The Doctor’s hearts sped up.  He'd seen this happen before.  He'd been on the receiving end of it, as well.

 

Donna noticed his shocked expression.  “What’s the big…..”

 

Then the Goddess turned around, and the Doctor’s hearts nearly stopped.

 

“Doctor,” the Goddess, who was indeed very familiar, gasped.

 

The penny dropped for Donna at that moment, so what the Doctor said next really didn't surprise her.

 

“Rose Tyler,” he murmured shakily.


	2. Rose Hops into a Predicament

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we find out how Rose became the Golden Goddess, and Rose meets a fellow captive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always to Rose—Nebula for her beta work! Thanks!

_Several hours before_ ….

  
The Alohalarexia sunrise on the beach was, as usual, spectacular. It went completely unnoticed by the workers sent to collect shells there on a daily basis. Knowing they'd be paid for each perfect shell they found, they kept their eyes down and their minds on their task.

  
Until a shimmer appeared in the air right in front of the shell collectors. Their hair stood on end from a wave of static electricity. Suddenly a humanoid woman dressed in black slacks and a blue leather jacket stumbled forward.

  
“Bloody water,” Rose grumbled. The hem of her trousers was wet from her landing. She looked around, noting the sunrise, the beach and the workers. They didn't look particularly threatening but she kept her hand on her stun gun anyway.

  
The women in front of her stumbled backwards in shock. It was not an unusual reaction to her sudden appearances. However, the workers farther back pointed, mouths agape. They dropped to their knees, shouting, “The Goddess! The Golden Goddess!”

  
Rose was frozen to the spot. The other workers dropped to their knees as well. She couldn't see what they saw, of course. The sunrise backlit her blonde hair- and she was the only blonde on the beach. If the Doctor could have seen her at that moment, he would have been shocked by how much she resembled Bad Wolf.

  
Rose stepped out of the water, and hesitantly two women approached her. Despite their drab clothing they were beautiful, with long dark hair and glittering skin. Rose smiled. “Hello,” she greeted them hesitantly.

  
“You speak to us?” one of the women said.

  
“‘Course I do. I'm Rose. I'm...a traveler. Where am I?”

  
“Alohalarexia Omega, m’am,” another woman informed her, bowing.

  
“Oh, don't bow, m’just Rose.”

  
Before the women could speak, men wearing black clothing swept onto their area of the beach. Rose’s hand twitched toward her gun. “Why aren't you collecting?” the tallest, most imposing one demanded.

  
“Sir, the legend has come to pass! The Golden Goddess!”

  
The men looked at Rose, then exchanged a worried glance. “You must come with us to meet the prince,” the shorter of the two declared.

  
Rose had seconds to evaluate the situation. She'd been captured before, but the recall on the dimension cannon had been a lifesaver. She still had her weapon, and if they thought she was some sort of goddess, maybe it could buy her time to find out if this was the correct universe. And possibly, she could demand to contact the Doctor. She pressed a button on the hopper, which disabled the automatic return and sent a message back to Mickey.

  
“You need to surrender any weapons,” one of them announced.

  
_Oh, like hell_ was on the tip of Rose’s tongue.

  
Before she speak the tall guard pulled out some sort of scanning device, activating it in her direction. She barely registered the sensation, having endured this treatment before on countless dimension hops.

  
“Hand over your weapon,” he demanded. “You’ve a stun gun and some other unidentifiable technology on you.”

  
The shell collectors were staring. Rose didn’t want to start something that could become dangerous for the innocents.  
She unfastened her stun gun from her holster, keeping her hands carefully visible. She lay it on the sand.

  
“The other technology?” the tall guard demanded.

  
“No. It’s nothing you’d be interested in. It’s not a weapon,” she stated flatly. “I need to try to contact someone. If this isn’t his universe, then I’ll use this to leave here. There won’t be any trouble.”

  
“We’ll be the judge of that. Take the device,” the guard ordered. His two companions stepped forward, each grabbing one of Rose’s arms.

  
“I don’t want trouble!” Rose yelled. One of the shell collectors stepped forward hesitantly, as if to help but she was intimidated by the imposing guard. He pushed the woman back, brandishing a pike that seemed to be some sort of electrified cattle prod. “No! Don’t hurt her! I just need to contact the Doctor. That’s all. Oi, watch it, paws off!” she snapped as she was relieved of the hopper button.

  
“Who is this Doctor?”

  
“He’s a Time Lord,” she answered, glaring at the guards. “Give me that back. It’s nothing you need.”

  
“The Time Lords are just a legend, their planet was destroyed.”

  
Rose felt hope for the first time in a very long while. She was, or at least she thought she was, in the correct universe. “No. There’s one left. I need to contact him. Just get me somewhere I can make a transmission. Please.”

  
Her pleas were interrupted by a large crowd approaching their spot on the beach. They were lead by a pair of collectors who had broken away from the main group. “She’s here! She’s the Goddess. She is real!” one of the collectors announced.

  
“Back to work!” the guard bellowed.

  
“She’s the one the prophets foretold,” the collector argued.

  
The crowd bowed in awe. Rose fought the urge to scream in frustration. “I’m not..…..you know what? Yeah, I’m the goddess! And I’m looking for the one...infused with time!” She hoped that sounded suitably pretentious. The crowd looked impressed, so perhaps it worked. Not so much for the guards, she noticed.

  
“We’re taking you to see the Prince. He should meet our Golden Goddess personally, I think,” the Guard decided.

“And then all the people of the capitol city shall meet her!” He announced this with an air of pomposity that made Rose fight not to roll her eyes. She wanted the crowds gathering to be safe, so she didn’t put up a fuss.

  
“Well, take me there then. I need to speak to this Prince,” she demanded.  
“Your wish is our command, Goddess,” the guard said with a sneer.

  
*****  
The tall guard had been polite enough, but despite apparently being a Goddess, she was a prisoner. Her stun gun hung on the guard’s belt, along with the hopper.

  
The palace looked more like a resort in the Bahamas, but Rose stayed on alert. She'd jumped into several places that looked beautiful on the surface, only to have it go badly.

  
_Please, Doctor….TARDIS…..I'm tired. I'm just so tired. Let this be the right universe and the right time._

  
The guards and the prince’s aide had a heated discussion outside the throne room door, and as far as Rose could tell, they were debating her existence. “M’ right here. Me. Rose Tyler. I think once I've spoken to the prince it will be straightened out.”

  
The door opened and a man on the other side popped his head out, looking at her in surprise. He gave Rose the once-over. She had to suppress the urge to laugh. He reminded her of the Wizard’s guard in _The Wizard of Oz._ She almost wanted to look for the “bell out of order” sign. The door slammed closed again.

  
Rose expelled a huffy breath. Trying to catch the guard’s attention, she spoke loudly, “They're not debatin’ whether I should kill the wicked witch, are they? Could I possibly get in to see the prince, please? I won't take much time, I just need to try to contact the Doctor from here.”

  
The door opened all the way, and the man she’d mentally dubbed “the Wizard’s guard” stepped into the room. “Prince Peareggnol will see you now.”

  
She followed the guard. She was faced with a long table, and a sparkly skinned man in rich purple robes. Four guards followed her in.

  
“The Goddess,” he announced.

  
“Rose Tyler,” she countered.

  
The prince strode toward her. “Prince Peareggnol knows you are no goddess,” he stated gravely.

  
Rose’s eyebrow arched. It appeared that they would be getting down to business. _The Doctor would have a field day with this pompous arse,_ she thought. “Prince Peareggnol would be correct,” she agreed. “I’m from Earth. I’ve been stuck in a parallel universe and I’m trying to get back to the Doctor. Do you know of him?”

  
“Everyone knows of him. The Oncoming Storm. Destroyer of Worlds,” the Prince proclaimed.

  
Rose’s tolerance for this Prince was rapidly dwindling. “He’s called the Doctor, and I need to try to contact him. It’s an emergency.”

  
“We’ll not tolerate a _Time Lord’s_ interference,” Peareggnol proclaimed loudly, infusing the words “Time Lord” with all the disdain he could muster.

  
Rose stepped forward, and two of the guards stepped in front of her. They both carried the same electrified prods. “The Doctor isn’t looking to cause you any trouble. Trust me, you will be much worse off without him.”

  
“The Doctor always looks for trouble,” the Prince scoffed.

  
Rose paused, considering. She shook her head, not wanting to get into that debate. “There’s a threat to all universes, and he’s your best hope. So it’s in your best interest to help me contact him.”

  
“Prince Peareggnol will not invite the Oncoming Storm to our peaceful planet.”

  
Rose, recalling the scene on the beach, felt the rage boiling inside her. “Think it’s more like you don’t want him seein’ how you run things around here.”

  
Prince Peareggnol approached Rose threateningly. “I think we need to hold the ceremony,” he decided. “Lock her up until we have it prepared. The Goddess will wed in the manner the prophets foretold, and the people will be satisfied.”

  
Rose growled, “S’that how you do it? You feed them this nonsense about the Golden Goddess to keep ‘em enslaved? Good fortune and all that, if they just do as the Goddess tells ‘em?”

  
The Prince smiled dangerously. “Oh, you won’t tell them what to do. The Goddess weds and performs the ancient fire ritual…..then good fortune smiles on the land.”

  
“Fire ritual, my arse,” Rose snarled.

  
“No need to worry about the fire ritual, Goddess. All you’ll need to do is stand on the pyre. Guards, take the Goddess away to prepare. The one that crash landed from that transmat will do nicely for the groom.”

  
“You do this and your good fortune will be very, very short lived,” Rose warned. “Somethin’s comin’, and it will destroy you and everything else in this universe. And I’m not gonna let that happen, even to a pompous wanker like you. I recommend letting me go find the Doctor.”

  
“Silence her, Prince Peareggnol is bored,” the Prince said with dismissive flick of his hand.

  
Rose ducked down and kicked out, Torchwood survival training skills taking over. The guard with the hopper ran towards her, and her foot connected with his leg. Now that she knew for certain that this was the right universe she had no intention of leaving, but she still wanted an escape if necessary.

  
Suddenly Rose’s body seized, as if she’d touched a live wire and she crumpled to the floor. Another guard with an electrified prod stood nearby, sneering.

  
“Give Prince Peareggnol that device,” the Prince ordered, relieving the guard of his prod. The guard handed over the hopper. The Prince locked eyes with Rose, grinning dangerously. She watched helplessly as he impaled her means of escape. It buzzed and sparked, now useless.

  
“No,” Rose mumbled. She managed to crawl a few centimeters towards it before another shock rendered her unconscious.

  
********  
She had no idea how long she was unconscious. She only knew that she’d passed out on the floor of an opulent throne room and awakened on a hard bunk fastened to the wall of a damp prison cell. It was hard to remember why she….

  
_The hopper._

  
Rose sat up abruptly, and immediately regretted it. The room seemed to spin and her head pounded. “No….” she moaned. “No, no…”. She leapt off the bunk, and her knees buckled.

  
“H...hello? Are...are you okay?” A male voice from two cells away startled her. Rose steadied herself and walked shakily to the solid door. There was a window nearly two feet square open in the middle. It didn’t smell any better out there than it did in her cell.

  
“Hello? Who’s there? Are you in a cell, too?” She hoped it was a friendly, easily influenced guard.

  
“Y...y….yes. I’m…” She heard him take a deep breath. “I’m in a cell,” he spoke in a rush. “You o..okay?”

  
Rose took a minute to do a quick health check. She’d become quite accustomed to evaluating physical health quickly in emergency situations. Her head ached, but it was manageable. Her arms and legs worked. She felt slight twinges of pain and a burn from the prod, which was was already nearly healed. _No, only my pride’s seriously wounded this time_. “M’fine. I...lost somethin’ important. All these times I’ve traveled I’ve never lost it before. S’pose I was distracted.” She felt for the key on the chain around her neck. It was cold, but mercifully still there.

  
“W..would it g….get...you out of here?”

  
“Yeah. M’name’s Rose, by the way. Who are you?” There was a long pause. Rose imagined she could hear the man breathing shallowly. “Hello there? Still with me?”

  
“Y...yes. I’m tr...tr..tryin’ to re..re....”

  
“Remember?” Rose asked. “You don’t know? Do you remember what happened to you? Why you’re here?”

  
“N..no. I...was trapped in a lib..library. I...I thought I ha...had a wife. Kids. But I don’t. I think….I think I dr...dreamed it.”

  
Rose didn’t have an answer for that. “Well,” she reassured him, “once we get out of here I’ll help you find out. I have a friend I’m trying to find, and maybe we can figure it out together.”

  
He chuckled. “Y..you tr...trust me? I...I d...don’t even know who….”

  
Rose considered it. She’d been on countless dimension hops now, meeting all types of humans and aliens. She’d evaluated them based on how she thought the Doctor would have reacted to them. His instincts had usually paid off. She imagined the Doctor would have been quick to help this man.

  
Rose answered, “I think the Doctor would have trusted you.”

  
“Is...is h..he who you’re tr..tryin’ to...to find?”

  
Rose’s heart went out to the man as he struggled to speak to her. She reassured him, “I’ve been bustin’ through the walls between the dimensions to find my friend. I know I’m close. I can feel it.” She stopped short and stilled, taking a breath. She _could_ feel it. It was faint, very nearly not there at all. And then it was gone.

  
“He...hello? St..still there?”

  
Rose shook herself out of the trance she’d found herself in, not entirely convinced she’d felt anything at all. She answered the man in cell, hoping she sounded convincing. “I know we can get out of this. If I can go through all of what I have to get here….getting out of this will be the easy part.”

  
“I..if you say so.” There was another pause, then he stammered, “I...I had a n..name in the dream, I….think. Lee. J...just call me that. Easy t..t..to say.”

  
“Well, Lee, nice to meet you. I can’t wait to introduce you to my friend, the Doctor. So….what do you know about this dungeon we’re in? Have you overheard anything from the guards?”

  
Slowly, Lee managed to get the story out. He remembered very little. He woke up on the beach, he was dragged to the cell. They seemed to think he was a part of the resistance, whatever that was. He knew the dungeon was below another level of cells. “The….the g..g..guards don’t bother… w..with me much. Three m...meals.”

  
“How many meals have they served? That way we know about how long you’ve been here,” Rose explained.

  
“Eight….maybe?”

  
“Three and half days, then, possibly. Before I got tossed down here, Prince Pompous and the guards were planning to use the two of us in some….ritual...because they want the people to think I’m some sort of goddess. Basically they’re gonna make us examples so his subjects stay happily enslaved. That’s good. They have to get us out of here to do that, and it’ll be easier to escape. They know we can’t do anything locked up here. That’s why they don’t bother with us.”

  
“They...c..can still l..listen in.”

  
“True.” Rose looked up at the gray concrete ceiling. “If you are listenin’, consider this your notice! You’re not gonna win! I won’t let you. The Doctor won’t let you. This ends now!” It felt oddly satisfying to holler at the ceiling even if no one but Lee theard. “That felt very Doctory,” she commented.

  
“I….I m...must still be dreamin’,” she heard Lee sigh.

  
“It’s real. But...I know what you mean. I’ve been livin’ a nightmare for a very long time.”

  
They heard the creak of a heavy door opening and footsteps.

  
“G...got a plan yet?” Lee whispered as the footsteps drew nearer.

  
“It’s….it’s a work in progress,” Rose admitted, feeling very Doctory all over again.

  
Four guards approached her cell. Rose squared her shoulders, expecting a fight. A guard entered with an electrified prod in one hand, a red and gold brocade robe in the other.

  
“You will put this on,” the guard ordered, his tone suggesting she should not argue. He dropped it onto the cot.

  
“Goddess robes then? Gonna make a hell of a tacky Goddess,” Rose quipped.

  
“Put it on!” he barked, then marched out.

  
“Didn’t say I wasn’t gonna! Blimey!” Rose examined the robe. Gold thread embroidered into sun and moon shapes decorated the shiny scarlet fabric. She slipped it on over her clothes and tied the sash, taking her time with it.

  
“Hurry up!” barked the guard.

  
“Oi, there, I’m the Goddess, and I’ll come out when I please!” Rose hollered back.  
The angry guard glared through the cell window. “Now! The Prince is waiting!”

  
“Not too fussed about that, to be honest,” Rose said mildly. The door was yanked open again and a golden tiara was tossed onto the cot. “Not exactly my style….but I’ll make it work.” As she ever so slowly adjusted the tiara on her head, she assessed the situation. _Assets and liabilities,_ the voice in her head said, sounding like Jack. _Not a whole lot of assets. Four guards. Lee could take two and I could take two….could use the tiara as a weapon. It’s pointy._

  
The door was flung open once more., and two of the guards stepped in. One grabbed her arm, the other leaned down to lock leg irons around her ankles. She jerked away as best she could, bending forward to wrench her arm away. The guard grabbed her roughly. The key around her neck swung out on the chain, hanging on the outside of the robes.

  
“What’s that?”the guard demanded.

  
“S’nothin’. Gets me into my home. That’s all.” When his hands only tightened around the key Rose pushed him away.

“Leave it! The Goddess demands it!”

  
The third soldier rushed into the tiny cell, brandishing the taser weapon. To complete the party, yet another person followed. This one wore Bermuda shorts and hibiscus flowers around his neck.

“Our Goddess is ready, I see?”  
Rose finally succeeded in knocking the guard’s hand off of the chain. “Who the hell are you?” Rose growled.

  
“She’s beautiful. Every inch the Goddess they said she was.”

  
Rose rolled her eyes. “And she’s right here, and able to hear everything you’re sayin’. Who the hell are you?” she repeated.

  
“I am Alman, the Prince’s shaman, and I’ve been given the duty to collect you for the divine mystical wedding ritual.” His eyes fell upon the key and he touched the chain lightly. “Leave this. It’s of no importance. The Prince is impatient, and we’ve waited long enough. Bring her up.”

  
Rose was roughly shoved from behind, and she muttered, “Hell of a way to treat a goddess. Nonbeliever, I take it?”

  
Alman looked back at her and his smile chilled Rose. “I believe you’ll be just what we need you to be,” he answered in a low voice.

  
And with that, Rose was pushed out of the cell. They passed through the filthy room. As she was lead towards the stairs, and Rose caught a quick glimpse of a handsome, dark haired man peeking out. No one made a move to unlock Lee’s door.

  
“What about my groom there?” Rose demanded.

  
“We’ve found a more suitable groom,” Alman told her.

  
“R...Rose!” Lee yelled.

  
“I’ll come back for you. Once I take care of this lot,” Rose called back. “Don’t you hurt him.”

  
“It is not your decision to make.”

  
Rose was forced up the stairs, wincing as the dungeon door slammed shut, locking Lee in behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Rose reunite in the next chapter!


	3. The Divine Wedding Ritual of the Golden Goddess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Rose face their "wedding" day, and Donna learns that a face from the past has returned, if they can rescue him in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the wonderful comments and kudos. I'm thrilled that you enjoy the story so much!

 

Rose was marched through a side door, past palm trees.  Exotic birds flew overhead.  Rose could hear the waves and smell the salty air.  If it wasn’t for the ridiculous robes and the leg irons she could imagine she was on a tropical holiday.

 

“Our home is a paradise, through the divine intervention of the Golden Goddess,” Alman began, clearly enjoying the oration.

 

“Or so you tell them,” Rose spat.  “Do you really think that sacrificing the Goddess will inspire them to keep being enslaved to you?  Or is it more of a warning?”

 

“They believe.  They work.  And that is all we need.”

 

Rose muttered,  “But sometimes you need to provide a little...motivation, yeah? When you’re not shockin’ and beatin’ then into submission.  Must be an awfully lovely way of life for you.”

 

“It keeps the peace,” Alman told her.

 

“S’not gonna matter how you keep the peace if I can’t contact the Doctor and get some help.  The walls between the universes are collapsing and everyone and everythin‘ is threatened.  We don’t have much longer,” Rose warmed.

 

“You lie,” Alman growled in a low voice.

 

“What would you do if I shouted my lies to that bloody great mob that’s here for a wedding?”

 

As they walked, small groups of people put down their tools by the side of the path and began to bow in homage to their goddess, only to be struck by their supervisors.  She cried out in anger and tried to force her way back to them but she was stopped by the guards with their tasers. It wouldn’t help Lee, or the slaves, if she was disabled, so she glared at her captors and walked on.  

 

“That is what we’d do.  And worse, Goddess, so keep moving.”

 

The sun glinted off the purple waves as they reached the flower covered pergola, but the beauty was lost on Rose.  She scanned the area, looking for a way out of the situation.  Noticing the large pile of lumber in the fire pit, she immediately understood what her role was to be. She began to pull away from the guards. “This ends now.  I wasn’t going to cause any trouble, but it’s too late now.” 

 

“What can you do to stop us?” Alman asked with a sneer.  “Goddess, your groom awaits, and our good fortune is secured.”

 

“If I don’t find the Doctor...if you don’t let me go, your good fortune is over.”

 

“Prince Peareggnol is not trying to keep you from the Doctor, Goddess.  Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact.  We think you would make a lovely pair,” Alman chuckled.  

 

“What are you even bloody saying?” Rose demanded.  “You’re talkin’ nonsense!”

 

Alman smirked gestured to a group ahead of them on the path.

 

Rose finally noticed the pair under the pergola, her heart speeding up.  The sound of the surrounding crowd fell away.  Alman continued talking, but Rose paid him no attention.  She’d heard enough of monologuing villains to last her a lifetime and nothing was more important to her than the sight of the man at the end of the path.

 

“Doctor,” she gasped.

 

She couldn’t hear him.  They were too far (much too far) apart but she could read his lips, and she knew exactly what he had said.  She’d heard it in every dream she’d had since she fell into that bloody parallel dimension.

 

“Rose Tyler.”

 

*****

 

Donna observed the Doctor, taking in the rare sight of him standing there perfectly still.  She became aware of him murmuring to no one in particular.  “How is..how is she here?”

 

“Why don’t you ask her yourself?” Donna told him.  

 

“It’s a trick, it has to be trick,” he breathed.

 

“It doesn’t have to be, Spaceman.  Maybe...the universe has decided to be kind to you for a change…..well, until we’re all burned at the stake or what have you.”

 

“Enough!” The prince roared.  “Bring the Goddess forth!

 

Rose had never been more glad to be forced forward by a hostile guard.  She couldn’t move fast enough.   _  Of all the times to be in shackles.  Like I’d run away now _ , Rose thought. 

 

It seemed to take forever for her to reach him, but when she did, the Doctor’s hand was grasping hers before Prince Pomposity could tell him to take it.  Her hand was soft and warm and oh, so familiar.  The Doctor’s body had ached when he lost her, like a phantom pain from a missing limb.  And even though he knew he needed to be figuring a way out of this predicament, all he could do was focus on the fact that he finally felt whole again.  He had no idea what they’d do to get out of this predicament, but as long as his hand was in hers, he knew it could be done.

 

“Hello,” the Doctor greeted, grinning from ear to ear.

 

Rose beamed.  “Hello.” She was as beautiful as ever.  She appeared exhausted, and her eyes held a sadness he’d never seen before, even as she grinned broadly at him.  He imagined it was rather like looking in a mirror.  

 

“Oh my God, he has actual heart eyes,” the ginger woman with the Doctor quipped as she was shoved behind him. He had a new companion, Rose realized.  He had no business traveling alone, so in a way, Rose was glad.  But that small, jealous part of her wondered the Doctor had ever mentioned her to this new woman.

 

“Meet Donna Noble, who is apparently both our maid of honor and our best man today,” the Doctor announced.  Donna snorted laughter.  “Donna, meet Rose.”

 

“I was hopin’ you were his Rose.  You’re all he ever talks about.  Been a right misery, he has,” Donna laughed.

 

Rose turned to smile broadly at Donna, a weight lifted from her shoulders.  “Nice to meet you, Donna!  Right misery, yeah?”

“Better believe it,” Donna agreed.  

 

Rose murmured,  “Not anymore.”

 

Prince Peareggnol interjected loudly, “We shall begin the divine ritual!”

 

Rose rolled her eyes.  “And have you had the pleasure of meetin’ our captor, Prince Peareggnol?  Don’t worry if you didn’t catch his name. “He’ll make sure you remember.”

 

The Doctor’s eyebrow arched.  “Pear...like that abomination of a fruit?”

 

The Prince’s ears turned a lovely shade of red.  “Prince Peareggnol commands silence!!”

 

“Oh, Prince Eggo...we’re not good at silence.  And something else we’re not good at is putting up with injustice caused by pompous arses like you.  You’ve made a horrible mistake,” the Doctor warned, all good humor gone.  

 

“Prince Peareggnol has captured the last Time Lord,” the Prince sneered.  “The Time Lords shall finally end.  Prince Peareggnol shall prosper because of it.”

 

The Doctor rolled his eyes at Rose. “Well, that’s gonna get tedious.  Consider the use of pronouns, Egg. They’re brilliant.  Right then, back to my original point….” All good humor and frivolity disappeared from the Doctor’s eyes as he spoke. “You’ve made a horrible mistake.  You may have a whole platoon of easily influenced flunkies, and you might have my sonic. But I have Rose Tyler and Donna Noble.  You’ll find that I have a distinct advantage.” He spoke the last quietly, and Prince Peareggnol took a step back, seeing the Oncoming Storm in the Doctor’s expression.  

 

The Prince only nodded at Alman.  The shaman stepped forward to announce in a loud, strident voice, “The Divine Ritual Of Mystical Wedlock shall begin!”

 

The Doctor began to voice his disapproval, but with another nod, a guard advanced upon them, threateningly, brandishing his taser at Donna. 

 

“Then get on with it,” Rose demanded.  “There’s no need to hurt her.”

 

To the wedding party’s surprise, a choir began to chant.  Alman joined in, marching in a circle around the Doctor, Rose, and Donna.  “What the bloomin’ hell is he doin’?” Donna hissed.  The Doctor, Rose, and Donna were ushered forward down a path toward the pyre, lead by the shaman and the Prince. 

 

Alman came to a stop in front of the bride and groom, laying his hand on theirs.  The Doctor flinched away from Alman, pulling Rose’s hand away from the Shaman.  “Pardon me, but I’ve waited a very long time to hold this hand and I’m not sharing,” the Doctor growled. Rose squeezed his fingers reassuringly.

 

Alman hesitated, then with an encouraging nod from Prince Peareggnol, he continued loudly.  “And now you shall kneel for the divine ritual!”

 

Rose and the Doctor stared at them.  “Wellllll,” The Doctor drawled, and Rose found it rather hard to keep a straight face.  “Just a wee bit of problem, mate.  Your poorly designed shackles make it impossible to kneel without falling over flat on our faces.  Quite embarrassing, I’d think.”

 

“Don’t aggravate Prince Peareggnol,” the Prince warned.

 

The crowd began to mutter and move, as if they were becoming impatient with the delays.  The Doctor leaned forward to make a show of talking to Peareggnol privately.  “The natives are getting restless.  I have a feeling that we need to put on a good show, am I correct?  Keep the happy masses….happy.  Then we should probably follow the ritual to the letter.  We should kneel.  After all, you’d have the advantage.  High ground, and all.”

 

After a bit of agonizing from the Prince, in which the villagers began to mutter, he nodded to the guards.  They unlocked Rose and the Doctor’s leg irons, and they both knelt, still clasping hands.  Alman opened his mouth to begin chanting again, interrupted by the Doctor standing up. He wouldn’t relinquish Rose’s hand.  “We really should all be kneeling, shouldn’t we? We should be kneeling and the Goddess should be standing.  After all, we should be honoring her divinity.  She’s a goddess, after all.” He winked at Rose. “My beautiful Fortuna.”

 

Rose felt the sting of happy tears and a rush of love for the Doctor, but she had to quash that thought and focus on the situation at hand.   _ In other words, nothing’s changed, _ she thought.  

 

“Donna should also kneel.” the Doctor added.  His eyes shifted around, taking stock of the situation, noticing the placement of the guards and their weapons. His sonic hung off the belt of the one directly to his left.  Three held tasers.  The one closest to Donna concerned him most, as he held a wickedly sharp knife.  

 

“Kneel, Time Lord!” Prince Peareggnol growled.

 

“Oh! Yep! That’s me!” The Doctor knelt.  “Donna, though.  She can’t properly honor the goddess.”

 

“The woman will stand!” 

 

“The woman is Donna Noble, and she can hear ya just fine,” Donna snarked.

 

Frustrated by their insubordination the prince raised his hands and began to proclaim his opinion loudly.  “Guests, the wedding shall begin!” To the Doctor he hissed, “And perhaps it will begin with the sacrifice of the groom and his loud companion!”  The Prince nodded at Alman, who resumed his loud chanting. Donna looked as though she was about to take issue and the Doctor shook his head slightly.

 

“All behold the divine Goddess!” Alman shouted. “All hail the Golden Goddess whose divine beauty shines as if lit by the sun, blessed as with time itself!”  The audience chanted shouts of praise to their Goddess.

 

For a mere second the Doctor was distracted by the sun backlighting Rose and even though he knew better, the resemblance to Bad Wolf sent a shiver down his spine.  Shaking that thought off, he made sure both Rose’s and Donna’s attention was on him, and he mouthed, “ _ distract _ ”.

 

Rose noticed and nodded.  She caught Donna’s eye.  Donna took a deep breath in preparation for her big moment.

 

Before Alman could begin bellowing again, Donna raised her hands above her head.  Waving them, she used her particular set of skills to call attention away from Alman.  She was  _ loud.  “ _ Oh!  Behold the Goddess!  Behold the divine radiant sunshine of our lives!   _I can not contain my….._ __self!_ ” _

 

Rose jumped up from her spot, reluctantly letting go of the Doctor.  The natives were already worked up, and Donna’s proclamation sent them into a frenzy.  

 

“ _ Silence _ , woman!” Alman screeched.

 

“That won’t be happening,” The Doctor told Rose with a smirk.  

 

“Come forward and meet your Goddess!” Donna shrieked, easily shouting down the flustered shaman..  

 

The euphoric audience excitedly chanted praises to the Goddess as the Doctor noticed that men were starting to push their way forward.  They were more roughly dressed than the other shell collectors and residents of the capitol city. Their shell collecting outfits were accessorized by black balaclavas covering their faces.  He suspected that the resistance had arrived.  

 

“Come!  Come to the light!” Rose hollered.  The crowds began to press forward and the soldiers could not hold them back. “Come forward!”

 

The guards advanced, but the Doctor hadn’t been idle.  He’d always eschewed violence, but that didn’t mean a well-placed Venusian Aikido kick wasn’t out of the question.  As it turned out, the muscle memory transcended regenerations.  He kicked out, striking the guard holding the sonic screwdriver.  

 

Donna wasn’t finished whipping up the crowd, even though the guard with the knife had grabbed her.  “Protect your Goddess!!” she bellowed, right as she administered a sharp elbow to the groin. “And get your bloomin’ paws off me, Twinkles!”  The surprised guard dropped like a rock, but not before he grabbed Donna and pulled her down.  

 

“The sonic!” the Doctor shouted.

 

“I am the Goddess and you shall come forward and end his reign!  The Prince lies!  Stand up to those who would keep you enslaved!”  Rose called, standing regally.  The Doctor gaped, distracted by the sight of Rose.  She had a distinct glint of gold shining in her eyes.  A thrill of fear shuddered through him, and he had to force himself to focus on the task at hand.

 

Alman and Prince Peareggnol saw that the angry crowd was heading in their direction and took off in the direction from which they’d just brought Rose.  Some guards broke off from the mob to protect them, the others attempted to subdue the captives.  It was rather difficult when the crowd overtook them.  In the melee, Donna snagged the sonic and tossed it to the Doctor.  

 

Rose struck out defensively, her Torchwood combat training in full force. The tiara proved to be a rather handy weapon.  Rose brought the points down hard onto the arm of the guard grabbing at her.  Once he shrank back, bleeding and howling, she scanned the area for Peareggnol and Alman.  They’d both scooted off.  “Bloody hell,” she hissed, realizing that the hopper button was gone as well.  There was nothing to be done about it at this point.  Her last view of it had been when it was smoking and sparking.  She had time to send up a quick prayer that they’d be able to contact Mickey again just as she glimpsed the Doctor making his move to liberate Donna. 

 

The Doctor dove down to Donna’s feet and soniced the leg irons, freeing her.  Two guards with tasers were heading straight for them. They were quite surprised when both of their weapons backfired in a hail of sparks as the Doctor activated the sonic.  They dropped, subdued by their own tasers turning on them.  The guards advancing on Rose did the same.  The Doctor grabbed Rose’s hand, then Donna’s as a piercing screech from the forest turned everyone’s attention to the palm trees.  A squad of hooded men and women advanced on the crowd.

 

“Here comes the resistance!” The Doctor shouted. “Back to the TARDIS! Allons-y!” To Rose, he blurted,  “I met an Alonzo! And I said it.”  Rose burst out laughing.  They began to run back toward the path.  Seeing a belligerent mob approaching, the Doctor pulled Rose and Donna into a small circle of trees.  They caught their breath as the palace guards battled the soldiers nearby.

 

It hit them both at the same time.

 

_ The Doctor was here, and he wasn't a projection. _

 

_ Rose Tyler stood right there, and he could touch her. _

 

So, neither one wasted any time.  The Doctor’s hands cupped Rose’s cheeks.  Her heart raced as he leaned in.

 

He had sworn in those horrible moments after Bad Wolf Bay that he wouldn’t deny her the words he had run out of time to say.  It didn’t matter that the world was in a battle right on the other side of the trees.  Before his lips brushed hers he spoke the words aloud, regret over words not said evaporating away.  “Rose Tyler, I love you.”

 

Rose felt a laugh bubble up, a burst of joy she couldn't contain.  “I love you!” she returned as she pulled him closer.   

 

They barely had time to kiss, merely pressing lips gently, soft and sweet, before Donna cleared her throat.  Rose chuckled again and buried her face against his neck, inhaling his familiar scent.

 

“Hate to break this up, I really do.  It's the first time I've seen a smile touch his eyes since I've known him.  If I wouldn’t kill myself doin’ it, I’d be flippin’ cartwheels.  So, let’s just get off of this planet so you two can have a proper reunion and I can go shoppin’,” Donna declared.  

 

The Doctor grinned.  He pressed another quick kiss to Rose’s lips then addressed both women. “Let’s get back to the TARDIS.”  They ducked through an opening on the opposite side of the battle and ran for the path.

“Oh! What about Prince Eggo?  We gonna just let him go?” Donna panted.

 

“As far as I’m concerned we can let Eggo go,” the Doctor chuckled giddily, clearly pleased with himself.  “Back to the TARDIS. The revolution is a fixed point….and apparently we helped instigate it.  In few days Egghead will be deposed by the resistance leader, peace reigns, and no more stake burnings.”

 

Rose stopped, pulling the Doctor’s arm.  He stumbled.  “Doctor!  We have to go back,” Rose told him.

 

“Going back is not an option,” the Doctor returned.  “They'll barbecue us.”  Smoke rose from the path several meters away.  “We might have to circle around and approach the TARDIS from the other side….”

 

Rose was insistent.  “Doctor, listen to me!  There was a man back in the dungeon.  They were going to pass him off as the ‘one who unites with the Goddess’ and now that we've escaped he’s in danger.  He's not from here.  He was just trying to go home, wherever that is.  I promised I’d help him.”

 

They stopped in the shelter of some pine trees.  “Rose, that's kind of you, but…”

 

“But nothing, Doctor!  I've spent so much time trying to get back to you, and I've landed in situations where I couldn't help everyone who needed it.  I had to let events play out,  sometimes horrible events. I imagine it's rather like being you.”  She squeezed his hand.  “I don’t have time to help him.  The whole of creation is in danger.  But I gave him my word, and they will kill him. Let’s save this one person.”

 

The Doctor had no retort for that.  He’d hardly thought much past the fact Rose’s hand was in his again.  How she had done it and what she must have gone through hadn't entered his mind.  Her expression clearly communicated that she expected no argument.  The Doctor couldn't give her one at any rate.  He glanced at Donna, who had her arms crossed.  He knew better than to ask her opinion.  “Right then, who is this person?”

 

Rose sighed in relief, then began speaking quickly.  “He's got a speech impediment and I'm worried he'll have difficulty speakin’ for himself. He was captured on his way back from escapin’ from somewhere...a teleport gone wrong. He said he was trapped in a library but I could be wrong.  Who gets trapped in a library?”  

 

Donna gasped, then elbowed the Doctor out of the way.  “What did you just say?  What did he look like?  What was his name?  Rose, tell me!”  She grabbed Rose’s hand.

 

Taken aback, Rose answered, “He told me he couldn’t remember his proper name, but he called himself Lee.  He said he was trapped, and it was like a dream.  I only caught a glimpse...but he was tall.  Dark hair.”

 

Donna let go of Rose’s hand.  She rubbed furiously at tears flowing down her cheeks.  She hadn’t been aware that she was crying until that moment.  She murmured “Oh, my God,” over and over.

 

The Doctor’s eyebrows shot up.  “I’ve quite a bit to tell you,” he murmured.  He took Rose’s hand again.  “We’ll fill you in on the way back to the dungeon.  You brilliant woman, you might just be the instigator for more than one happy reunion today!”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week's update might post on Thursday or Friday due to a combination of being the room mother for my son's Valentine's Day party and a staff meeting at work (ugh). Hopefully it will be put up as scheduled but don't be surprised if it's a bit late.


	4. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor, Donna and Rose return to the dungeon to rescue Lee. Will they make it in time? And are there more surprises ahead for the Doctor?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big, big thanks to Rose--Nebula for helping me get this chapter out on time! You're the best!  
> Happy Valentine’s Day! While this isn’t specifically a Valentine’s fic it’s nice to be able to reunite two of my favorite DW couples on Valentine’s Day.

They stayed off the main path back to the palace, as the revolution seemed to be in full swing on the beach behind them. “Rose, are you sure? He called himself Lee? I can’t believe...I thought I was...dreaming too,” Donna blurted breathlessly as they ran. 

“You were trapped in the library with him, weren’t you?” Of course you were,” Rose answered her own question. “Because that’s just the kind of predicament the Doctor would find himself in.”

The Doctor shrugged in agreement, the sonic between his teeth, as they reached a gate. 

“Did he mention me?” Donna asked as the trio stopped long enough for the Doctor to sonic the gate open.

Rose shook her head. “He did say he had a wife and kids in the dream. Were you the….”

Donna nodded, murmuring, “Wasn’t a dream...was like some big computer simulation. Or somethin’. I was real, he was real...the kids weren’t. But they sure felt like they were.” 

The Doctor began, “Welll...technically it wasn’t a computer simulation, it was….” Rose glared at him. He was very emphatically reminded of the power behind that glare. “.....something we’ll discuss later. Into the palace with you lot.” They dashed across the lawn to a wooden side door.

The Doctor cursed under his breath.

“Still no wood settin’, in case you were wonderin’,” Donna told Rose.

“I didn’t come out through this door. I think it was over that way,” Rose told them. “Not far.” They began a run to where Rose indicated, but a small squad of the prince’s guards were jogging toward it from the other direction. The Doctor clutched Donna’s and Rose’s hands and pulled them against the palace wall out of the soldiers’ sight.. 

“Reckon we’d better try our luck with that other door,” Rose advised. They crept back the way they’d come. The door was still unguarded, and still resolutely wooden. The Doctor sighed.

Donna and Rose both rolled their eyes. “Shall we?” Donna asked. Rose nodded.

As one, Rose and Donna kicked out, and the door didn’t stand a chance. The Doctor was left gaping. Rose reached out and grabbed his hand, urging him along. They entered a kitchen, occupied by a pair of sparkly-skinned women in purple dresses. 

The older women’s eyes widened at the sight of their golden Goddess and her groom bursting into the room. “Oh, my Goddess,” one of the women gasped, falling to her knees in supplication. 

“Please…no, just...I’m Rose. Just Rose. The Prince is lyin’ to all of you.”

The younger of the two women stepped forward. She appeared to be about sixteen years old. Upon hearing Rose she stood straighter and confidently strode over to Rose. “I told you, Mother. I told you. The revolution’s started, hasn’t it?”

“It has,” Rose confirmed.

“Elyssia,” her mother gasped. “How dare you presume to talk to her like you’re equals?” 

“S’because we are,” Rose interrupted. “M’just a girl from the nowhere, really. I’m no better than anyone else here, and I’m definitely no Goddess.” 

The Doctor gazed at Rose, smirking proudly. Donna grinned, rolling her eyes fondly at her friend’s expression. He told Elyssia and her mother, “I’d argue that last point...but at any rate, can you get us down to the dungeon from here?”

Elyssia grasped Rose’s hand and her mother gasped at the blasphemy. “Oh, Mother, enough. I’ll show you. Come through here.” Elyssia indicated for them to follow her down a dusty, unused hallway by the oven. “There’s a secret door,” she revealed, pulling back a large tapestry. “Gonna be a bit tight, and the stairs are steep. Be careful.”

“Won’t be a problem for Toothpick,” Donna snickered. Rose flashed Donna a grin. The Doctor rolled his eyes. 

Elyssia bent down and felt the stones in the wall, pressing in until an opening of four feet square appeared. Her mother gasped. “M’ brother Noah showed me. He knows the leader of the resistance.” Elyssia leaned in conspiratorially and muttered, “He kisses her!” She stood up straight, ignoring her mother’s squeak, and added, “Good luck.”

“Keep fighting, Elyssia,” Rose encouraged.

“Trust us, it’s gonna get better,” the Doctor added.

Donna interjected, “You can believe in your Goddess and her Martian boyfriend.” 

“Who are you, really?” Elyssia asked. 

“The Stuff Of Legend,” Rose announced, grinning broadly. 

“Quite right, Rose Tyler! All three of us. Allons-y,” the Doctor said, leaning down to fit through the opening. Donna and Rose followed him through. They were relieved to be able to stand upright on the other side. The wall slid into place behind them, sealing them in. The stairs were narrow stone, damp and mossy, spiraling down endlessly into darkness. The Doctor had to bend slightly to avoid the low ceiling. 

“We could be headin’ to our deaths right now,” Donna muttered. She squared her shoulders. “Best get at it, then.”

The Doctor worked his way to the front of the line, using the sonic to light their way down. They inched their way down the slick steps in silence, Donna and Rose concentrating on their footing. The Doctor was sure-footed and able to see more in the claustrophobic dark than his companions, and it wasn’t long before he began to ruminate on what Rose hadn’t yet said. He wasn’t sure if he wanted an answer but finally he spoke. “Rose, how did you do this? How are you even here?”

Rose considered, then said briskly, “The short version? You know I work for Torchwood. We figured out a way...to build a device that makes it possible to cross between universes. So I could…” She trailed off. The Doctor slowed to a stop and glanced back at her. In the blue light of the sonic she could see the broad smile on his face.

“So you could what?”

“Come back,” she answered. “...to you.” His smile didn’t diminish. It only widened. “Shut up,” She snickered. 

“You two must’ve driven everyone around you spare,” Donna muttered. She urged them to keep walking.

Donna’s interruption refocused the Doctor’s attention. The implications of what Rose had just told him rocketed through his impressive Time Lord brain. His smile faded as he told Rose, “It should have been impossible. The walls were sealed. And you, Rose Tyler, shouldn’t have been able to shoot yourself through anything. How many times did you nearly kill yourself trying to get back to me?”

The Doctor and Donna could practically hear Rose’s eye roll. “It doesn’t matter how many times. I did it until I found you. That’s how many times,” Rose snapped. “I did what needed to be done, and I’ll keep doin’ it, until the universes are safe.” 

“It should be impossible for a human to survive multiple trips!” His voice rose in pitch as he struggled to keep his volume low.

“You don’t get to tell me what’s impossible. Quite honestly, it’s more possible for me than you could ever imagine.”

Before the Doctor could question Rose further, Donna snatched the sonic out of his hand and pushed her way to the lead. “Enough! You have a lot to tell him, he’s got a lot to obsess over about you. Have a row about it later. Let’s get Lee before Prince Idiot barbecues him!” She took off down the stairs, leaving Rose and the Doctor no choice but to follow.

“Don’t think that we’re finished with this, Rose.”

“Didn’t say we were, Doctor,” Rose huffed.

“Hush now!” Donna whispered. They proceeded down the stone stairs for what seemed like ages. 

The Doctor decided he couldn’t let it go. “What were you talking about, the whole of creation is in danger?”

“Stars are disappearin’. We noticed at Torchwood. Here in this universe there seems to be whole planets goin’ missing as well. The walls between the universes are collapsin’, Doctor. That’s the only way the hoppers could work.” 

“Whole planets?” The Doctor repeated incredulously. 

“In this universe? Calluflax Minor….Jahoo. Clom…”

“Clom? Really?” The Doctor asked. Rose nodded.

She sighed and added, “Women Wept, too.” 

The Doctor’s eyes widened in shock. He had vivid memories of watching Rose walk gingerly on the ice there, looking beautiful as he had realized he was already hopelessly in love. That can’t be gone, he mused.

“Remember….Pyrovillia. And Miss Foster was nannying all those Adipose because the planet was missing,” Donna reminded him.

“The lost moon of Poosh,” the Doctor muttered.

“Oh, God, is Earth still there? My grandad and mum…”

“As far as I know, Earth’s still safe,” Rose reassured her. “But we don’t know what’s goin’ on. That’s why we need you. She squeezed his hand and added, “I would’ve tried to figure out a way back to you regardless.” She saw his small half-smile in the darkness.

“You didn’t need to risk your life for that,” he murmured. Before Rose could dispute his assertion they stopped abruptly at an unyielding stone wall.

“Oh, wizard! There’s a great bloody flippin’ wall with no door! I reckon they’ll be sendin’ the twinkle brothers down here any second now,” Donna groaned. “Of course she lied to us. What the hell are we gonna do now?”

“No, wait…” Rose began.

“There’s a door,” the Doctor finished.

“Yeah, just right there!” Rose stepped up to the wall and touched what appeared to be a blank stone wall, bathed in the blue light of the sonic. 

The Doctor added, “Brilliant! Wait...you can see that, Rose?”

“Course I do, s’ right there,” Rose affirmed.

“There’s nothin….” Donna started, interrupted by the Doctor relieving her of the screwdriver. 

“Perception filter. Fairly high tech,” he explained, setting the sonic and pointing it at the door. The stone appeared to shimmer then take the appearance of a large metal door. “Humans can’t see it,” he went on, looking meaningfully at Rose. He pointed the sonic at the lock, which sparked.

Confused by the unspoken conversation between the Doctor and Rose, Donna commented, “Good thing the door was metal.” 

Ignoring the dig at his screwdriver, the Doctor opened the door a a bit. The sound of a commotion greeted them on the other side. 

“Lee…” Donna breathed, pushing past Rose. 

“Wait...we’ll lose the element of surprise,” Rose warned, grabbing her arm. Donna glared, but didn’t have time to respond, as the Doctor was slipping through the narrow opening. Rose wiggled past next. 

Donna took a deep breath, trying to quell her nerves, and followed them through. The Doctor had deactivated the sonic and he and Rose had their backs to the wall, creeping along. Donna joined them, cringing at the sound of the fight at the end of the dark corridor. “Sounds like he’s givin’ ‘em a fight,” Rose muttered. They heard the crackle of an electric prod and a thud, as if someone had hit the ground hard. It was all Donna could do to hold herself back from running to Lee. 

The Doctor picked up speed, the women close behind. When they were close enough to see an open cell and the guards with the tasers, he quickly activated the sonic to the same frequency that had disabled the guards outside. The tasers backfired and the guards dropped like rocks. They heard a faint moan from inside the cell.

Donna cried out, “Lee!” and the Doctor shushed her. He activated the sonic once more for good measure, ensuing that the guards stayed down. 

They cautiously approached the cell. The Doctor peeked in to see a man crumpled on the floor, groaning. He ran to the man’s side, hearing Donna begin to sob as she recognized him.

“Oi there!” the Doctor murmured. “Lee McAvoy, I presume? Let’s check you out. I’m here with Donna. We were in the library together, Lee. I know about what happened. The marriage, Ella and Joshua, all of it.” He motioned Donna over and she knelt beside the Doctor and the man she remembered so vividly from the Library.

“Lee, it’s Rose. Next cell neighbors, remember?” Rose added. She quickly relieved the guards of their tasers. “We’re gonna get you out of here.”

“Lee? It’s me, Donna. Oh, God. You’re real.” She touched his cheek hesitantly. She remembered this, what it was like to touch him. He was grimy and pale and barely conscious, but at the sound of Donna’s voice he stirred and opened his eyes to look blearily up at her. Donna began to laugh through her tears, relieved. 

“Donna,” he murmured, without a hint of a stammer.

“Think you can sit up?” the Doctor asked him. “Aside from the shock and some contusions you’re fine.” Lee nodded, and the Doctor and Donna helped him up to a sitting position. 

Lee pressed his hands to his temples. “D..dizzy,” he muttered. 

“I don’t doubt it,” Rose said. “Those prods pack a hell of a punch. But from the looks of the guards, so do you.”

“A...amb….ambushed ‘em. S..sorta.”

Donna elbowed the Doctor out of the way to kneel in front of Lee. “You’re real,” she repeated. “I just can’t believe…”

“S..saw y..you, just b...before I left. Called out to..to you….”

Fresh tears bloomed in Donna’s eyes. “Oh, I wish I’d heard.”

Rose joined them. “You’re here now. That’s what counts. Don’t think about what could have been.” He she glanced at the Doctor, who kept himself busy checking Lee’s physical condition. She knew all too well that her advice would likely fall on deaf ears when it came to her guilt-ridden Time Lord. 

“We’d better get moving,” The Doctor advised. He stood, but Donna and Lee remained on the floor, staring at each other as if they couldn’t believe the other was real yet. 

Donna reached out and caressed Lee’s cheek. He did the same, hesitantly leaning in and resting his forehead gently against hers. 

The Doctor felt Rose’s hand grip his, and he murmured, “Good call, coming back here.” Rose chuckled and kissed his cheek. “As much as I hate to say it...because reunions are brilliant...we need to get out of here.” 

“Just help me…” Rose began, as she let go of the Doctor’s hand and began to pull one of the unconscious guards to her empty cell. The Doctor helped her lock all three guards away as Donna assisted Lee. “I’ll say it again, Lee. They might have gotten the best of you but you gave those gits a proper fight. Do you think you had military training or…”

“Don’t re..remember.”

“Well, it wasn’t while we were in the library,” Donna noted. “You went to work, then you came home. I don’t remember what your job was.

“A..all I re..remember is..is..thinkin’ it was t..time t..to go home. And I was h..home,” Lee recalled.

“We can figure all that out later. ‘Cause I hear some backup coming,” Rose noted. Indeed, they could hear a squad of guards approaching. She grabbed a taser from the floor. “They took my stun gun and my hopper. I’m not goin’ without a weapon.”

“Well….be careful,” the Doctor said, clearly not thrilled with the idea. “Don’t want to accidentally stun you when I’m sonicing the weapon of one of the unfriendlies. “C’mon, back the same way we came in,” the Doctor ordered. He took the lead, opening the secret door. 

Once they were all on the stone stairs on the other side he aimed the sonic at the door and it shimmered away, as if it was never there to begin with. With the glow of the sonic to light the way they made their way up the narrow stone stairs.

******

“This is too easy,” the Doctor groused as they approached the door at the top after climbing what seemed like endless stairs. 

“Tell my calves that,” Donna moaned. It had been much easier going down into the dungeon.

“You think we’re going into a trap?” Rose asked.

“Be ready for anything,” the Doctor advised. “Feeling better, Lee? We might need some backup.”

“I’m ready. Get behind me, Donna. They’re gonna have to go through me first. Open the door,” Lee asserted confidently, without a hint of a stammer. Donna’s eyes widened, and the Doctor and Rose exchanged a look. 

“Well…..guess we’re ready as we’ll ever be. Straight back to the TARDIS, then,” the Doctor said, touching the stone wall. “Right, then….” He activated the sonic and the small stone door opened. He exited first, followed by Rose, Lee and Donna. 

The kitchen was deserted. “Hope Elyssia and her mother got to safety,” Rose murmured. The Doctor took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

“Remember...fixed point. The resistance will win. But it’s not our fight anymore. Let’s go,” he told her. 

So they ran, all four of them hand in hand with the one they’d thought they’d lost forever. 

****  
The battle raged on. It appeared that a good amount of villagers had joined with the resistance and had the prince’s soldiers on the run. “This resistance was well planned,” the Doctor noted as they began the run back to the TARDIS, which was nearly a mile away. “Makes me wonder if someone with military training took the lead. They don’t fight like a rag-tag militia. Good luck to them. Keep to the cover of the trees.”

They ran then, from one copse of trees to another. They were nearly there, just barely a tenth of a mile away, when an enormous explosion burst up from the area where the forced wedding had taken place. “You sure about that victory, Doctor?” Donna yelled over the din. 

“Fixed point..….just run!” The four of them took off, the TARDIS just in sight for everyone except Lee.

“W..what are we…” he stammered.

“That blue police box just over there,” Donna panted.

“Perception filter, Lee! Just focus on the color blue!” Rose advised, then sprinted ahead of all of them, narrowly beating the Doctor. He was marveling at the sight of her, running toward his TARDIS. He thought he’d never see that again.

“Stop oglin’ her bum,” Donna laughed.

“I wasn’t!” he protested. Perhaps, a wee bit, he thought, but he’d never admit it to Donna. She’d never let him forget.

Instead, the Doctor focused on Rose, pulling her precious TARDIS key out of her blouse. 

“Allow me,” Rose requested, inserting it into the lock. “Been waitin’ so long for this.” Looking back at the Doctor, she smiled her tongue touched grin. He responded with a joyful smile.

“Welcome home, Rose Tyler,” the Doctor said, his voice breaking as he uttered her name.

The door stayed locked. Rose stared at it, surprised.

“Wha…” she muttered, glancing back at the Doctor. “Won’t open. Did you change the…”

“Never,” the Doctor vowed. “The TARDIS would never refuse to open if there wasn’t a good reason. Let me try….” He stepped up behind her and tried his. It didn’t work. He snapped his fingers.

The TARDIS remained resolutely locked.

“Oh, wizard,” Donna groaned. “Normally it’s the landing that gets us, not the escape. Can’t ya sonic it?”

“You know I can’t!”

Before an all out row began, they were completely distracted by the sight of a dirt and grass covered door in the ground pushing up, a small squad of soldiers pouring out. Prince Peareggnol and Alman made their grand entrance as well, apparently having been lying in wait. 

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “Of course there's an underground bunker.”

“Of course you landed on an underground bunker,” Donna pointed out.

“Hello, Time Lord,” the Prince sneered.

The Doctor bit back his frustrated sigh and instead snarked, “I’ve only ever met one other man with as much of a flair for drama as you. His name was the Master and he did it better.”

“The Prince didn’t see this box until you mentioned what to look for, Goddess,” Alman revealed with a smirk. “We knew this is where you appeared, but we couldn’t figure out where your transport went.” He gave a signal and an underground bunker opened, releasing a small squad of guards. 

“At any rate, Egglet, I won’t bore you with my usual speech. Right then, short version. You’re done. You don’t win. Your time as the grand Prince Of Alohalarexia Omega is over. Why don’t you just toddle off, get captured, and let us go. We’ve bigger fish to fry.”

“Prince Peareggnol will not be spoken to in that impertinent way!” The Prince bellowed. Alman stepped in front of his infuriated Prince. 

“Think you just were,” the Doctor commented mildly. 

“Prince Peareggnol demands entry!”

“We need you to open that box. We’ve decided to seek other opportunities,” Alman interjected calmly. Doctor almost felt sorry for Alman, having to do the heavy work while Peareggnol pouted and shouted. 

“And you want transport off planet,” Rose filled in. “Like hell that’ll ever happen.”

“I can arrange transport,” the Doctor interjected. “Ever hear of the Shadow Proclamation? I’m sure there’s some war crimes…..or other crimes...crimes of fashion...they could pin on you. But you will not step foot on my TARDIS. She won’t let you in.” 

Peareggnol signaled the guards with a wave of his hand, and they swarmed forward. The one who went for Donna had to go through Lee first and he didn’t get far. Rose brandished her stolen taser, and she had time to take down a guard as the Doctor pulled out the sonic. “Rose!” He called in warning. She dropped her taser just as the Doctor activated the sonic. The guards dropped but Alman didn’t. Having finally had all he could take, he drew a large knife and grabbed Rose by the hair, pulling her against him.

“Let her go,” The Doctor demanded, the Oncoming Storm in full force. The look in the Doctor’s eyes caused Alman to flinch, the blade of the knife coming uncomfortably close to Rose’s neck. 

“The Goddess will be sacrificed if Prince Peareggnol is not satisfied. Open the blue box!” Peareggnol bellowed.

“It won’t open, you pompous arse,” Donna snarled. 

“There he is!” a strident, and oddly familiar voice called from a distance. A squad of resistance fighters were advancing on them. They wore all black, faces covered in hooded masks.

Rose, seeing an opening, brought her foot down hard on Alman’s, elbowing him hard in the stomach. As he went down, she followed up her first strike with an elbow to his head. 

Prince Peareggnol was shrieking now, watching his second in command drop to the ground. “Kill them, kill all of them!”

“All your minions are unconscious, idiot,” Donna snapped. Lee stalked up to the prince and immediately grabbed him in a headlock. “Oh, nice work,” Donna praised him. 

Rose noticed her stun gun and hopper, still hanging off the belt of the captain of the guards. She quickly relieved him of both items. The gun was intact but the hopper was blackened. “Right then, you don’t get to keep my stuff,” Rose announced, and Peareggnol snarled. Lee increased the pressure around his neck ever so slightly and the Prince’s expression went from arrogant to fearful in a split second.

The leader of the resistance squad was much smaller than rest of the team. It was a woman leading them, the Doctor realized. One of the other soldiers, a tall man, could be heard speaking to her as they approached. “Looks like they did our job for us.”

“Yeah. And I’m glad to be able to thank him for the assistance personally,” the petite soldier said as the squad stopped in front of the TARDIS. “Things have changed since we went off planet yesterday.”

The Doctor felt his respiratory bypass kick in. He hadn’t been aware that he’d stopped breathing. He heard Donna gasp so he reckoned he wasn’t dreaming, but he had no idea why the universe had chosen to bless him twice in the same day. He half expected the planet to explode into a fireball at that very moment, because there was no way the universe ever showed him that much kindness.

Except now, the young, petite soldier was removing her hood to reveal blonde hair tied into a ponytail. She grinned broadly and announced, “I’d heard rumors about some Time Lord interference. Hello, Dad!”


	5. Something of the Wolf About Her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor has reunited with his true love and his daughter, but a storm is brewing. It is about to threaten everyone he loves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a shorter chapter this go around. The end of the chapter is told from the TARDIS' point of view. Hope you enjoy! Many thanks to Rose--Nebula and thank you to all the readers leaving such lovely comments.

“ _Hello, Dad.”_

 

It was overwhelming.  Nearly too much for his impressive Time Lord brain to process.

 

Rose and Jenny on the same day.  His knees wanted to go weak.  Surely this was when the universe, who was never his friend, played its cruel trick.  The planet would explode.  He’d be killed, with no hope of regeneration.  Both of them would be killed in front of him.  Donna would disappear, leaving him alone.  He wouldn’t have been surprised at all.  Or he’d wake up, alone on the Valiant, in the middle of the Year that Never Was. He saw all these things happening, just as clear as if he was reading the timelines.  He couldn’t comprehend that the universe would ever be that kind.

 

But none of his dark musings came to fruition.  Instead, he found himself being enthusiastically embraced by his daughter.  And then Donna was hugging them both.  When he could speak the Doctor finally stammered, “You died.  I saw...I _held_ you.”

 

“I got better,” Jenny quipped with a smirk, which quickly faded at the sight of tears in his eyes.  At that moment Jenny realized how devastating it had been for him to see her in that state.  “Dad.  I’m here.  It’s okay.  That Source didn’t only bring the planet back to life, it saved me, too.”

 

“We should have stayed,” the Doctor moaned.  “How long after we left?  We abandoned you!”  

 

“Spaceman,” Donna spoke sharply, sensing that the Doctor was about to embark on a guilt trip.  “There’s a war on.  Beat yourself up about it later.  You need to explain this to Rose and there’s still Pearface to deal with.”  

 

The Doctor opened his mouth to argue, saw dangerous look in Donna’s eyes and decided not to carry on with that line of thought.  He glanced at Rose, who was still wide eyed with shock.  “I...I just don’t know what to say,” he finally stammered.

 

“That’s a first,” Donna deadpanned, mainly because she couldn’t resist.  Jenny chuckled.

 

“Erm...w..what are..are we….” Lee began, nodding toward his captive.  Donna noted that he didn’t appear to be expending a great deal of energy on restraining Peareggnol.  

 

“Get you, tiger,” she muttered with a grin.

 

“Ah, yes,” Jenny said with a smirk.  She sauntered over to him.  Peareggnol glared at her but didn’t struggle with Lee.  

 

The Doctor watched this scene about to play out, a nearly identical smirk forming on his face..  “Had some dealings with this one, I take it?”

 

“Oh, yes.  I crash landed here, after Messaline.  This one rescued me.  She nodded towards the tall soldier, smiling fondly.  “Then I started working behind the scenes with the resistance, training this lot to revolt.  I went off planet to Alohalarexia Minor.  Tiny moon, barely habitable, but a good place for exiles.  Peareggnol’s nephew ran away to hide there for his own safety.  I convinced him to come back and assume his rightful place in the palace.  You see, Peareggnol had his brother killed, took over the throne, and exiled his nephew,”  Jenny revealed.  

 

The Doctor’s eyebrow arched.  “How very…. _Lion King,_ ” he commented.  

 

Jenny’s squad of soldiers parted to reveal a young man, dressed in distressed clothing.  He was skinny, almost unhealthily so, and his eyes were guarded.  Despite his rough appearance he held himself with a regal bearing.  “Meet the rightful Grand Prince Aaron.  Son of Prince Malcolm.”

 

“Malcolm and _Peareggnol_?  I can sense that Eggo might have had some issues about not being mummy’s favorite,” the Doctor muttered to Donna.

 

“Uncle,” Aaron bit out, glaring at Peareggnol.

 

“Let’s get these war criminals back to the palace and see if we can’t have a peaceful transition of power,” Jenny called to her soldiers.  She nodded at her second in command.  “Noah, you and I will see to the outgoing Prince.”  Jenny’s team began to surround Peareggnol’s men as they were just beginning to come around from their weapons malfunction.  “Coming along with us, Dad?  There might even be some running involved.”

 

The Doctor grinned.  “As lovely as that sounds…” Another explosion went off in the distance. “I think, if she’ll let us in, the TARDIS might be the best transport to the palace.”  He gave the TARDIS a glare and snapped his fingers.  The doors swung open effortlessly.  

 

Rose, having finally found her voice, strode up to the Doctor and remarked, “She doesn’t like it when you do that.  S’disrespectful.  Hi, I’m Rose Tyler.”  She directed the last at Jenny.

 

“Ah….yes!  Jenny, this is my Rose.  Looks like it’s a day for family reunions all around.”  He eyed Aaron and Peareggnol, Who were currently staring each other down.   A blast of debris and flame appeared over the treeline.  

 

“Ha! Looks like we took out the prince’s weapons stash!” Jenny yelled triumphantly.  “We have them on the run now!”  Noah gave her a quick celebratory kiss, making the Doctor scowl.  

 

“Allons-y!” the Doctor proclaimed.  He ushered the crowd, which now included several of Jenny’s squad, and the newly deposed prince and his nephew.

 

The Doctor quickly closed the door behind them, and he found himself stuck behind a group of people new to Time Lord technology.  “Bigger on the inside, yes, you’re seeing that right….pardon, please?”  He made his way to the console.  “Okay, off to the palace.  Throne room would be nice.”

 

Rose joined him.  “Don’t be grumpy with the Old Girl.  If she hadn’t kept the door locked, you wouldn’t have met up with Jenny.  How did you find her, anyway?  Is she a Time Lord? I thought no one got away from Gallifrey.  And she called you…..”

 

“Dad, yes,” he murmured, as he entered coordinates.  “She’s formed from my DNA and a machine. Quite a surprise, she was.  Computer generated anomaly, bred to fight.  Ended up becoming much more to me than that in the short time I was with her, despite my resistance.” His head still bowed, he concentrated on buttons and levers.  “Took a bullet for me.”  He gave her a sad smile.  “You might’ve returned to see a completely different face on me if she hadn’t.  I watched her die.”

 

“Oh,” Rose gasped.  “That’s why you were so surprised….”  They both gazed at Jenny, who held the hand of the man she called Noah.  She was staring up at the coral, wonder shining in her eyes.  

 

“Okay, this is brilliant,” Jenny announced.  She looked back at the Doctor and Rose, grinning widely.  Rose answered her smile with one of her own.

 

“Isn’t it just?” she called across the crowded room to Jenny.  To the Doctor, she murmured.  “It’ll be lovely, travelin’ with her.”  

 

The Doctor stared at her, overwhelmed.  It felt like a load he hadn’t been aware he was carrying was lifted off his shoulders.  He let himself feel the joy fully, leaning down to kiss Rose as the TARDIS dematerialized.  

 

Lee was amazed by the sights around him as  well.  He turned a full circle, gazing at the walls and lights, taking in the full effect of the console room.  “Y..you...live h..here?” he asked Donna.

 

“I’m from Earth, twenty-first century.  Met the Doctor, and he took me on the adventure of a lifetime.  First time I’ve ever felt...useful, or a part of something bigger than myself.  S’an amazing life, Lee,” Donna responded.

 

Lee looked away, his expression guarded.  “I..s...see.  The Doc..Doctor and y..ou…”

 

Donna gaped.  Surely he couldn’t be insinuating….. “Are best friends.  And that’s it.  Are you kiddin’? If you were thinkin’ anything else, you’re daft.  For one, he’s over there snoggin’ Rose. For another, he’s like my 903 year old alien brother.  No way in hell anything would ever happen between Matchstick and me, so you can just drop that train of thought right now.”  Then she grabbed his shirt and pulled him down for a hard, quick kiss, leaving him completely speechless.

 

“We’ve arrived!” the Doctor announced.

 

“Best see if we’re in the right place!”  Donna answered.

 

He scowled at Donna, then went to the door to see if they were, indeed, in the right place.  He ignored Rose’s snicker in favor of peeking out of the door.  Noting the throne in the middle of the empty room, he indicated to the people watching him that it was safe to step out of the TARDIS.   

 

Noah and two other soldiers surrounded Peareggnol, escorting him off the ship.  Aaron turned to the Doctor and said, “Thank you for all your help.  And Jenny...thank you for helping me find the courage to come back here.”

 

“You will be just the ruler Alohalarexia needs.  Now you can make this a better place,” the Doctor told Aaron.  “Glad to be able to witness it.”

 

Aaron and the two remaining resistance fighters entered the throne room.  Jenny smiled back at the Doctor then began to follow her squad off the TARDIS.  

 

Before she could get three steps, the doors slammed closed and the TARDIS lurched, throwing Jenny to the floor. Lee stumbled backwards against a coral strut, Donna falling into his arms.  Rose grabbed the console, and the Doctor joined Jenny on the floor, hard.  

 

“What? What?” the Doctor exclaimed. The TARDIS hum changed.  He shouted up to the time rotor, “What are you playing at?”  He struggled to his feet, stumbling over to the console where Rose was standing.  

 

Rose grabbed the monitor as the TARDIS gave another lurch.  She hardly felt it as she stared at the screen.

 

“Doctor,”  she called calmly.  She supposed she should have been surprised, but what she was seeing seemed inevitable.

 

For the Doctor, Rose’s calm demeanor was unsettling, and that made getting to her all the more urgent.  He stumbled to the console, swinging the screen around only to stare at the words in shock, barely able to process what he saw. The words didn’t change when he blinked.

 

The viewscreen had two words on it, just two words.

 

It read _Bad Wolf._

 

******

 

The TARDIS hurtled through the vortex, forcing the occupants to hold on for dear life.  The Doctor worked feverishly at the controls, dancing around frenetically.  “Why are you blocking me!” He bellowed at the rotor, which bubbled indifferently. He got a quick telepathic flash of the Midnight bus.  “I didn’t want the entity to know of you!  And you didn’t need to see that _thing_ in my mind! I was protecting you!  Stop being stroppy!”

 

“Doctor,” Rose murmured, taking a spot at the console.  “She’s not.  She was protecting _you._ We want you safe.”  The Doctor stared at her, a thrill of fear shooting through him.  Rose began to throw switches and the TARDIS began to fly more smoothly. Rose seemed to be in her own world as she assisted him.    

 

“Rose, how do you know what the TARDIS intended?  You weren’t there...and when did you learn how to fly her?”

 

Rose didn’t answer him, and he didn’t get a chance to ask again as the TARDIS materialized.  She glanced at him and he was taken aback by a glint of gold in her eyes. It only lasted a second, and he couldn’t be sure he really saw it.

 

The Doctor strode to the door, trying not to telegraph his trepidation.  Rose joined him, taking his hand, and he realized he shouldn’t have bothered.  He could tell by the look on her face that she already knew how frightened he was.  Her hand felt so hot and human in his, but the sensation of warmth and comfort washing over his mind had nothing to do with her warmer body temperature. _Does she even realize she’s doing that telepathically?_ She gazed at him calmly.   _She knows exactly what she’s doing._

 

“Think we’d better go outside,” she murmured, opening the door.  

 

Nothing threatening appeared on the other side, to their surprise.

 

“Looks like we’re on Earth, in my current time,” Donna remarked.  “Are we in Chiswick?  I think we are.”

 

Lee looked around, muttering, “O..olden days.”

 

“It’s 2008!” Donna exclaimed, feeling a bit taken aback.  “When are you from?”  Lee only shrugged. Donna shook off that line of thought as they approached a delivery van.  Except for the ban, the street was oddly empty.  The whole atmosphere was unsettling.  Donna rubbed her arms, which were covered in goosebumps.  

 

“Oi!  Hello there,” the Doctor called to the delivery man who looked a bit confused to see their small group walking up the quiet street.  “What day is it?”

 

The confused, and now cautious delivery man called back, from a safe distance, “Saturday, Sir.”

 

“Ah, good.  Not a Sunday. I hate to land on Sundays.  They’re boring.  I like a good Saturday,” the Doctor rambled.  He sensed a big temporal tipping point.  He always liked to think of Saturdays as days when anything could happen because the timelines always seemed malleable.  But this temporal tipping point felt huge. He sensed a maelstrom of potential events and aborted timelines. He didn’t know what was about to happen, other than that another storm was coming.  His link to the TARDIS was suddenly and stubbornly blocked.  

 

For Rose, the moment before the ground began to quake was filled with the hum of the TARDIS in her mind.  “We need to go….” she gasped.

 

And then, everything _moved._ The Doctor ordered them all back to the TARDIS and they ran.  

 

*****

 

_The TARDIS hated to cut Her Thief out of her thoughts, but this moment was for the Wolf and the the Wolf alone.  She sensed that the stubborn Time Lord would only deny that the Wolf was about to return.  (He had always been very quick to deem something impossible.)_

 

_When She’d located Rose and brought her back into the correct universe, She’d been pleased to sense that their connection was nearly as strong as it had been when Rose had had the audacity to look into Her heart.  The trips across the void had helped to strengthen the Wolf still inside Rose’s mind._

 

_Across the multiverse the rest of the timeline was coming together.  The sound of Daleks belligerently shrieking “Exterminate” alerted the Doctor and Rose to the return of their worst nightmare._

 

_In London, Harriet Jones opened the Subwave Network, only to give her life for it once she’d connected everyone.  She died hoping that she’d done enough to save her planet._

 

_On Bannerman Road, Sarah Jane Smith burst into fearful tears.  She hugged Luke close.  She was sure of what she had to do next, and equally sure that she’d never see her fourteen year old again._

  
_In Cardiff, Jack Harkness pressed kisses to the foreheads of his love and his friend and left them.  He believed it would be for the last time._   
_  
She’d been told a human could only survive a limited number of dimension hops, but when the time came Jackie was prepared to take the risk.  She kissed her sleeping son goodbye and left a note for Pete.  She hoped there’d be a universe left for them.  If Pete hated her for the rest of his life for leaving, so be it.  At least they’d be alive.  And maybe she’d see Rose again.  She said a prayer that they’d all be together again soon. Mickey Smith was waiting for her at Canary Wharf, and with a touch of the hopper buttons, they blinked out of existence in Pete’s World.  _

 

_Martha Jones hid out in a secret location, trying to accept the realization that she had to be the person who to destroy her world to defeat the Daleks.  It didn’t escape her that she was facing the same decision the Doctor had had to make during the Time War._

 

_It was a huge risk for all these people to be brought together, and the TARDIS knew it.  These were the people who had to help the Wolf and her Thief end the Daleks, and they were all in mortal danger.  The timelines were in constant flux and there was no guarantee any of them would survive._

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will pick up with more from the TARDIS. I don't intend to write a complete rewrite of the Crucible scenes from Journey's End. You will get an impression from the TARDIS how things transpired. After that we begin to wrap up this tale, but it is going to be Part One of the Reunited Verse. There are more stories to tell.


	6. The Doctor, the TARDIS, and the Wolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and his companions find themselves facing Daleks, but the TARDIS and Bad Wolf have a plan for their survival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, MANY thanks to Rose--Nebula because she helped me figure out so many things. This chapter was tough! Obviously, the tag "not canon compliant" comes into full effect here. I am most definitely using my own headcanon for Rose's transformation, and for how the story plays out. I hope you enjoy it. I didn't expect to get this finished on time, but my beta's the best. Thanks again!! All recognizable dialogue is from "Journey's End" by Russell T. Davies.

“THE DOCTOR WILL EXIT THE TARDIS!”

 

The Doctor couldn’t ever have imagined that, following the abduction of one of his favorite planets, and an impromptu visit to the Shadow Proclamation, he’d be standing on the TARDIS with Rose, Donna, Lee, Jenny and now Jack Harkness, with Daleks shrieking belligerently outside the wooden doors.   _ Well,  _ he mentally amended,  _ I would be able to get an impression of what’s happening if you weren’t still blocking me! _  The last was addressed to his TARDIS, in an angry telepathic wave.  

 

“Daleks.  Oh my God,” Jack said with a huge nervous smile and a laugh.  He hugged Rose.

 

“Always the damn Daleks,” she replied.  

 

“At least we’re safe in here, because of the extrapolator force field,” Jack pointed out.  “Assembled hordes of Genghis Khan and all that.”

 

Shaking his head, the Doctor interjected, “Nope. Here, the door is just a door.”   He strode over to Rose and kissed her firmly.  “We’ll get through this,” he told her, and he hoped he sounded convincing.

 

The Doctor looked back at his daughter and friends. He realized they were probably waiting for an encouraging word, but he had none for them.  His mouth opened, about to tell them they should all stay aboard and let him deal with it.  He closed his mouth with a click. There was a good chance they were doomed no matter what they did.  Briefly, he felt a presence in his mind.  It wasn’t the TARDIS’ consciousness touching his, though.  His eyes widened, but Rose gazed at him calmly, squeezing his hand.  Instinctively he reached out to her with one thought.   _ I love you. _

 

_ And I love you, my Doctor.  _

 

The clarity of Rose’s response sent a chill down his spine.  She shouldn’t have been able to respond to him so vividly.  Humans were just not wired in that way.  He had to shake off that thought and focus on the task at hand.  Very reluctantly he let go of Rose’s hand to take the lead.

 

The Doctor wanted to keep his friends behind him.  There was little he could do to ensure their safety even then, but instinct told him to go first anyway..  Opening the door, he stepped out to face his worst nightmare.  And his friends followed him.

 

******

After a few steps, Rose stopped dead in her tracks, feeling a presence in her own mind, a golden song, wiping away her conscious Rose Tyler thoughts and replacing them with those of a Wolf.  Rose did not exit the TARDIS with the others.  

 

The blue door slammed shut, trapping Rose inside. When the Doctor noticed, he whirled around, bellowing Rose’s name.  The distress in his voice brought tears to Jenny’s and Donna’s eyes.  

 

The Supreme Dalek ordered the TARDIS to be dumped into the core of the Crucible, and the Doctor watched as both his beloved ship and his Rose disappeared.

 

_ **** _

 

_ The TARDIS was aware of many sensations at once.  She was quite capable of feeling heat and fear and yes, pain, but She held onto to Her telepathic barriers and blocked the Doctor out. The TARDIS and her Wolf had heard his scream of desperation when they’d disappeared into the core.  They knew his sorrow for them and his fear and anger that his friends would threaten destruction to save reality.  The Doctor was always so full of guilt, but all of them, including the Wolf, had made their choices of their own free will. _

 

_ “Whatever shall we do, Old Girl?” Rose asked herself, as their thoughts were fused together.  She rose from where she’d collapsed onto the floor.   The Doctor would have been taken aback by the ethereal, otherworldly tone of Rose’s voice.  She  took a deep breath, unaffected by the smoke and heat and she opened her mind.   _

 

_ The TARDIS could see the Wolf inside Rose was more powerful, so well developed from her jumps through the void.  She would be safe, she would do more than just survive.  She would come through more powerful than ever before.  The TARDIS reached out and met Rose’s mind in the middle.  The melding of their minds resembled a sharp flash of gold in their shared consciousness. _

 

_ Rose strode to the console, flipping switches and pulling levers.  In Their shared mind, the TARDIS and the Wolf could see the Doctor and his friends, devastated, thinking the pair of them had been destroyed.  The Wolf’s own power, melded with the TARDIS’, exponentially stronger than before, worked to dematerialize from the hellish core.   _

 

_ The Wolf pictured the Doctor, standing trapped with his friends, now including Jackie, Sarah Jane, Martha and Mickey.  At the sight of her mother, the Rose consciousness wavered at this unexpected development but the TARDIS sang gently, reassuring her that they were destined to survive.  _

 

_ The doors opened and the Wolf stepped out. With a glance at the group in detention she murmured “You are free.”  They were. _

 

_ She felt her Doctor’s shock and caught his stray thought _ (She is a goddess)  _ but she had no time to deal with his fear.  The leader, the one they called Davros, called her a monster of the Doctor’s design.  _

 

_ “You lie.  And you have failed,” she responded, calmly closing her fist.   _

 

_ The power flowed from her hands and into the heart of the reality bomb.  In her mind’s eye she saw it collapsing in on itself.  A feeling of satisfaction washed over her as the Doctor’s friends sprang into action.  The planets were freed by Donna and Lee.  The Wolf knew all that would be and with the TARDIS’ help had made sure that Donna and Lee would find each other again for that moment. They managed to get all the planets back to their original orbits, except for Earth.  The Daleks were in disarray, ready to kill, but She saw Jenny, Jack and Mickey take down three of them before they could hurt anyone, although one of Jack’s shots was deflected and managed to destroy the Magnetotron, effectively preventing the Earth from being sent back home. _

 

_ It was as if she was outside of her own body, watching it all unfold.  The Supreme Dalek disavowing knowledge.  Dalek Caan laughing, insane from the prophesy that doomed Davros to failure.  The Supreme Dalek vowing to destroy the Doctor.  He never had a chance, as the fury of the Wolf was unleashed. _

 

_ The power was boiling in the Wolf, and the TARDIS sensed this as the Doctor tried to round up his friends for the escape.  The other ships were exploding in a chain reaction caused by the reality bomb, and the Crucible itself was about to be destroyed.  Whether or not he deserved it, the Doctor in his unending charity offered one last chance for Davros, which was summarily rejected.  The last view of Davros was one of him surrounded by flames, screaming that the Doctor was the Destroyer of Worlds.   _

 

_ Rage spiked in the Wolf and seeing that the power was in danger of engulfing her, the TARDIS pulled back from Rose’s mind.  That was enough to silence the Wolf, for the time being. _

 

Rose’s mind was her own again, but her body temperature was soaring and her exhausted consciousness was reeling from the channeling this great force.  Her physical body was already beginning to heal itself from the onslaught but it left her weakened and she collapsed, coughing from the smoke in the Vault.

 

The Doctor shouting “Rose!” was the last thing she heard before everything went black. 

 

*****

 

Rose was already beginning to regain consciousness once the Doctor crossed the threshold of the TARDIS with her in his arms.  She could hear the pandemonium in the console room.  There were far too many people and it was too loud.  Jackie was crying and shouting, and the Doctor was shouting for someone named Martha.  She felt the grating under her.

 

“She’s feverish,” a woman’s voice said.

 

“She’s burning up,” Rose could hear the Doctor cry out.

 

_ Blimey, I’m fine, if I could get a word out I’d tell ‘em….”  _  Rose drew in a deep breath, and exhaled as her eyes fluttered.

 

*****

“What happened to my Rose?  What the hell happened to my daughter?”  Jackie demanded, but the Doctor ignored her.  

 

The Doctor was certain that he was witnessing Rose Tyler’s last breath, and he shouted up to the ceiling, not caring if he looked insane.  “What did you do to her?”  

 

“Doctor….” Martha murmured.  

 

Rose’s eyes were half open, and she was exhaling golden particles into the air.  She drew another breath, and her eyes opened.  The Doctor's eyes were wide with shock and terror. 

 

“Doctor….m’fine...just help me up,” Rose rasped.

 

“What? What?  No! Help me get her to the infirmary!  Martha….”

 

“No.”  Rose’s voice was firm.  She clearly wanted no argument.  “I don’t need checking out in the infirmary.  We’ve still got a lot to do.  Earth didn’t get sent back, did it?”

 

“Well, no, it’s still here,” Donna answered because the Doctor seemed to be incapable of speech as he witnessed Rose’s miraculous recovery.  

 

He open and closed his mouth, then finally found the words.  “You are going to the infirmary before we do anything,” he told her, wanting no argument.

 

Rose cupped his cheek, looking him straight in the eyes.  “Listen. To. Me.  I have been poked and prodded and tested and I know I am fine.  The Earth is not going to survive this if we don’t get moving.  I won’t have you riskin’ the lives of the people on that planet because you refuse to see what you’ve known all along.”  The hand on his cheek slipped up to his temple.  Her hand mirrored its position on the other side, closing her eyes.

 

The Doctor placed his hands on her temple and saw it then, what he had indeed suspected all along.  Her timeline was golden in his mind entwined with the blue that he knew to be the TARDIS’.  It stretched on, and he couldn’t see where the end could be.  He recalled what she’d said on the winding stairwell to the dungeon when he’d told her what she’d done was impossible:  _ You don’t get to tell me what’s impossible.  Quite honestly, it’s more possible for me than you could ever imagine. _

 

When the Doctor opened his eyes, Rose was gazing at him, her lips upturned in a small smile.

 

“Would somebody tell me what the bloody hell is going on with my daughter?”  Jackie bellowed.

 

The Doctor and Rose became aware of their audience.  “Oi, there, Mickey! You’re catchin’ flies,” Rose chuckled. 

 

“You did it again, didn’t ya,” Mickey murmured in awe.

 

“Can you stand?” the Doctor asked her quietly.

 

“Bit wobbly,” Rose answered. 

 

“Then you sit this part out.  But you’re going to be my copilot for every trip after this, yeah?”  Rose nodded.  He indicated for Jackie and Martha to help her.  “She’s had a bit of a rough go, but she’ll be fine.  She’s still going to the infirmary after it’s all over, though.  Right?”

 

Rose rolled her eyes as her mother helped her up to walk slowly over to the jumpseat.  

 

Martha sat next to her, wanting keeping an eye on her patient, even if she wasn’t quite sure what just happened.  All she was certain of was that Rose mysteriously no longer had a fever.  “Nice to finally meet you, Rose,” she smiled. “M’ Martha Jones.  How long have you been back?”

 

“For just a day,” Rose answered, surprised to realize it.

 

“Been a hell of a day!” Martha chuckled.

 

“You’ve no idea,” Rose sighed, gazing at the Doctor, who was now squinting at the viewscreen.

 

“If Rose is okay, can we please do somethin’ about the Earth?”  Donna demanded.  “Are the people even still alive?  We all have people we’re worryin’ about!”

 

“Is there any hope that the network is still functioning?”  Sarah Jane suggested.

 

The Doctor made some adjustments, and then smacked the monitor with his hand. “Sorry, Old Girl…...Ha! Subwave Network’s still up and running.  Let me see….”  He turned a couple of dials, and the static on the screen settled into a clearer picture.  The Doctor asked, “Is there a Mr. Luke Smith out there?” 

 

There was a pause in which Sarah Jane didn’t take a breath.  Then a young man’s voice came on the speaker.  “Hello?  Luke Smith here!”

 

“Oh!! Oh! Luke!”  Sarah Jane cried out.  She exhaled shakily and wiped tears from her eyes.

 

“And Torchwood….are you out there?” 

 

“Ianto Jones speaking,” another voice called and Jack let out a war whoop.  

 

“Now...I’ve got a bit of brilliant idea.  We’re gonna turn this ship into the multiverse’s best towing service,” the Doctor announced.  He beamed at Rose and she gave him that tongue touched grin he found so beautiful.  

 

The Time Lord was in his element as he paced around, outlining his plan to use the Rift’s energy as tow rope to bring the Earth home.  After that it was a whirlwind of activity.  They harnessed rift energy with the help of Sarah’s Jane’s supercomputer, Mr. Smith.

 

“Now, then, you lot - Sarah, hold that down, Mickey, you hold that….'cause you know why this TARDIS is always rattling about the place?....Lee, that, there - it's designed to have six pilots and I have to do it singlehanded….Jenny, keep that level…..but not anymore….Jack, there you go, steady that….now we can fly this thing.... n-no, Jackie, no, no, not you, don't touch anything, just... stay by Rose….like it's meant to be flown!”  

 

The TARDIS had never flown so smoothly, even though most of the crew were rookies.  They could hear the whoops and hollers of joy from Luke and K-9 on Bannerman Road and Gwen and Ianto at the Torchwood Hub.  

 

At the controls, none of the pilots could contain their own joy.  Donna gazed at Lee, who looked back at her with a huge smile that made her knees go a bit weak.  

 

Jenny couldn’t stop laughing.  “This is brilliant!”

 

“Didn’t think you’d be driving a whole planet around when you got up this morning, did you?” the Doctor called across the console.  “And now….let’s just….hang on a tick….”  The TARDIS shuddered as the Earth disengaged from the rift energy to begin to spin all on its own.  

 

“Mum!  We have sunshine!”  Luke yelled.  Sarah Jane was ecstatic to hear her son’s voice.    

 

The celebration began in earnest.  Rose, who was very nearly back to full strength, hopped up from jumpseat and threw herself into the Doctor’s arms.  Their friends rejoiced loudly, but the Doctor and Rose kissed, lost in a world of their own.

 

*****

 

A bit later, Rose lay in the infirmary, disgruntled that the Doctor still insisted on running a battery of tests.  She gave a blood sample and while the tests ran, she explained what she’d discovered in Pete’s World.  “They noticed I would heal very rapidly from injuries after dimension hops.  Cuts and bruises would disappear the same day I got them.”  Rose averted her eyes, not wanting to reveal the next part.  “Anyway I was hurt pretty badly on a jump and I healed too quickly..and the Torchwood doctors were alarmed and….”

 

“What happened? the Doctor asked.

 

“S’not important….”

 

“It is to me,” he told her firmly.

 

“Why?  So you can have something else to feel guilty for?”

 

He sighed, frustrated.  “What…”

 

They were interrupted by Jackie entering the room.  Clearly she’d been listening in.  “She was stabbed on a jump. Clothes were just covered in blood and she was breathin’ out that gold glitter stuff…”

 

“Mum!”

 

“.....and the wound had already begun to heal.  She didn't even need surgery.  Shoulda died.  That’s when I found out about her healing.  Turns out I was right all those years ago.  She’s not human anymore.  And she’s slowly been becomin’ less human for a very long time.   Since she…”

 

The Doctor could fill in the details.  “Since she opened the heart of the TARDIS to save me.  I thought I’d gotten it all out.”

 

Rose took his hand.  “Be glad you didn’t.  That bit of...Bad Wolf...made it possible for me to jump dimensions safely.”

 

“It wasn’t safe, ever,” he argued, looking away.  She caressed his cheek, drawing his eyes back to hers.

 

“Then it was my good luck charm,” Rose told him firmly. “My lucky pants, you could say.  I’ll never regret it.  I know you’ll be full of guilt, but I chose this.  I chose to open the heart up.  I could see all that could be, and when I saw that I could be with you forever, I jumped at the chance.”

 

“I got her the big yellow truck to open the heart, so if you’re gonna feel guilty, you’d better throw a pity party for two.  But I can’t bring myself to be upset now that she has you back,” Jackie told him.

 

The Doctor was stricken by another thought.  “You could’ve been stuck in Pete’s World for an eternity, watching all of your family…”

 

“Another reason I’m glad she’s back here with you,” Jackie told him.  “Now, sweetheart, you’ve been given a gift.  Enjoy it.”  She kissed his cheek. “I’m going back to the party.  I’m gettin’ to know that daughter of yours, Doctor. Your life isn’t half crazy. She told me some stories.  I like her!  Doesn’t look much like you, though, even with your DNA .”

 

“She does...she just looks like my fifth self.  It’s...complicated with Time Lords,” the Doctor told her, shrugging.  He tried to ignore the laughter from the Tyler women.

 

“Truer words were never spoken,” Jackie commented as she got up to leave the room.

 

The device running the scan of Rose’s physical condition beeped.  “Let’s see, shall we?”  He put on his glasses. ”Enhanced healing, lengthened lifespan.  The bit of the TARDIS inside you tied you to her lifespan.  We’ll have a very long time together.”

 

“I can’t regenerate, though.”

 

“I don’t know.  I don’t think you can, but you did exhale regeneration particles.  I’d rather not test that out. Your cellular degradation has slowed to nonexistent.”

 

“Will the Wolf come out again, like today?”

 

“I can’t say for sure. There’s a lot we’ll have to figure out as we go along, I suppose.  These were pretty extraordinary circumstances.”  He addressed the next part to the TARDIS. “I don’t appreciate you blocking this from me!”

 

“Would you have believed her?”

 

The Doctor didn’t answer.  

 

“I know you wouldn’t, or we wouldn’t be in the infirmary so you could prove a point.  We need to get Mum back to Pete’s World before the walls close.  I’m estimatin’ we have about two hours, twenty five minutes and six seconds for that, so we should probably get moving.”

 

“Add enhanced time senses to the list, as well.”

 

Rose grinned, quirking her eyebrow.  “It’s been great. I’m not late for things anymore.” 

  
“Well, then you’re already better at it than me.”  He leaned in and kissed her.   _ Enjoy the gift _ t, her mum had told him.  He would try, despite the guilt he still felt over the ordeal she’d faced to get home to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more chapters to follow in this tale!


	7. The Biggest Family in the Multiverse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose says farewell to Jackie, but it might not be the permanent goodbye they both expected it to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter there are a lot of goodbyes but it sets up the next stories in the verse. Many thanks to Rose—Nebula for all her help!

The TARDIS materialized in a park, and one by one the Doctor’s friends took leave of him.  Rose had said her goodbyes on the TARDIS and then joined her mother in the galley for one last tea time together before Jackie went back to Pete.

 

The Doctor felt a rush of optimism as Jack, Martha, Mickey and Sarah Jane exited the ship.  In the past, he might have left the former companions to their own devices and not seen them again.  It would not be like that with this group. They’d stood together and battled his worst enemy. Rose had survived, and he still had his daughter.  

 

Sarah Jane said it best when she told him, “You always say you’re alone.  Well, you have the biggest family in the universe.” She hugged him tightly.  “Till we meet again, Doctor?”

 

“Absolutely,” he affirmed with a smile.  “Hopefully sooner rather than later.”

 

“Of course!  You have to meet my Luke!  He’s amazing. Just fourteen!  At any rate...give Rose my love.  So happy you have her. Goodbye.” She squeezed his hand and walked away.  The Doctor saw her pull out her phone, and he assumed her son was getting a call.

 

Next off was Jack, Martha and, which wasn’t too much of a surprise, Mickey, all talking animatedly, laughing at some story Jack was telling.  The Doctor didn’t miss the looks exchanged between Mickey and Martha. He seemed to be more in tune with such things now. “Well, Doc,” Jack began.  “Honored to serve with you.” He began to salute, and the Doctor held up his hand.

 

“Don’t do it!” he warned.

 

Jack smirked.  “You will be in touch, right?  Rosie will see to it.”

 

“Now that she has you back, she’s not gonna let you go.  She’s tenacious like that,” the Doctor told him. 

 

“And you?”

 

The Doctor shrugged, smirking. “Eh, I can tolerate you.” 

 

Jack burst out laughing.  “So, nothin’s changed then.”  The Doctor couldn’t resist a chuckle in response.  

 

“Thank you, Jack,” the Doctor said.

 

“My pleasure.  Now! Back to Cardiff and my team.  I’ve heard from Ianto. The Hub is a disaster, but they’re all fine.  Didn’t think I’d ever see them again.” He took a deep breath, forcing himself not to get emotional.  “Anyway, have Donna’s bloke get in touch with me soon. I have a theory about his memory loss.” The Doctor quirked an eyebrow.  “I talked to him a bit, and I think he might have been a Time Agent, same as me. I’ve lost two years. Who knows what he’s lost?  Have him call me. Until then…which one of you two wanna take me out to eat? M’starvin!”

 

“Martha’s payin’.  I don’t have any money from this universe,” Mickey interjected.  Martha crossed her arms and fixed him with a glare, but the corner of her mouth was turning up in a grin.

 

“Mr. Mickey.  So you’re staying?”  the Doctor asked. 

 

“Doctor, me gran passed away.  There’s really nothin’ there, now that we won’t need to work on the dimension cannon.  Thought I’d try makin’ my way here.”

 

“UNIT is always an option.  And once you get your paycheck, you’ll pay me back for dinner,” Martha told him.

 

“She’s not joking,” the Doctor pointed out. 

 

“He should know,” Martha cracked.  “Think he might still owe me for a basket of chips here and there.”

 

“Yeah, but I’m a cheap date,” the Doctor returned with a smile.  Martha hugged him.

 

“You’re Rose’s cheap date now,” Martha chuckled.  “I’m so glad you found each other.” 

 

Hugging Martha back, he told her,  “You really are a star, Martha Jones.  I’m glad to know you.”

 

“Don’t be a stranger, Doctor.  You still have my mobile, right?”

 

“I do, and I’ll use it.  And Martha….get rid of that Osterhagen thing.  Okay? It’s not necessary. You can save all of creation in other ways.”  

 

“Will do, Doctor,” she grinned.

 

After another round of goodbyes, the Doctor entered the TARDIS, pleased that his friends were home safe and about to embark on their next adventures.  Donna and Lee were standing in the console room. 

 

“So….off to Chiswick, I suppose?” the Doctor asked.

 

“Yeah.  This one just proved his bravery again by bein’ willin’ to meet my mum,” Donna revealed, pointing with her thumb back at Lee.

 

“Blimey, Lee,” the Doctor chuckled.

 

“H..how b..bad could...could it be?”

 

Donna and the Doctor exchanged a look.  “I might be making a rescue call soon,” Donna confided.

 

“You’ll be coming back, then?  For more trips?” The Doctor asked cautiously.  He really didn’t want to know the answer. As lovely as it was to have Jenny and Rose, he couldn’t imagine traveling without his best friend.

 

“More mad adventures?”  Donna asked with a smile.

 

“H..how c..could we not?” Lee added.

 

“Gonna give you and Rose some alone time,” Donna said with a wink, “but then we’ll need to get away.  Trust me.”

 

The Doctor nodded, his smile telling Donna all she needed to know. He began to throw switches and dematerialize the TARDIS.  

 

“Make sure we’re not four hundred miles off.  Or four hundred years into the future,” Donna ordered, resulting in an eye roll from the Doctor.

 

Much to Donna’s surprise, they were right on time.

 

It was pouring down rain when Donna and Lee dashed across the street from where the Doctor parked.  They were laughing as they reached the door. Before she could even take out her house key, the door flew open to reveal her grandad.  The Doctor watched as a confused Wilf greeted the new man in Donna’s life. Then he leaned out to wave at the Doctor. “Why don’tcha join us, son?” he called.

 

“Maybe next time,” the Doctor shouted over the pitter-patter of raindrops.

 

“He’s gonna take some private time with his lady, right?” Donna yelled.  The Doctor laughed and nodded. Wilf gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up.

 

“Remember, just let us know when you’re ready to travel,” the Doctor reminded Donna, who rolled her eyes fondly at her friend.

 

“Oh, how could I ever forget?  It won’t be long before we ring you.  Hug Rose and Jenny for me!” With a wave goodbye, Donna and Lee followed Wilfred into the house.  

 

The Doctor slipped his hands into his pockets and rocked on his feet happily.  This day could have ended so differently. He felt that disaster had narrowly been averted.  He sensed definite change in Donna’s timeline, and was relieved that the catastrophic results hadn’t happened.

 

The Doctor closed the TARDIS doors and strode back to the console.  It had been lovely to have six pilots again, but he thought he could get a lot accomplished with just him, Rose and Jenny.  

 

Jenny and Rose in the galley having tea with Jackie.  The Doctor supposed he could join them, but he really needed a moment alone to process all that happened.  He wasn’t looking forward to the next goodbye. Rose wouldn’t see her mother again. Gazing around the room aimlessly, his eyes happened upon an object on the jumpseat.

 

Rose’s broken dimension hopper sat, discarded, with her purple jacket.  The Doctor regarded it for a moment, then put the TARDIS into the vortex, punching coordinates into the computer.  “Old Girl, find us a safe spot to jump to Pete’s World,” he requested. After they were in flight, he picked up the hopper, turning it over.  Reaching into his inner coat pocket, he took out his sonic and began fiddling with settings, scanning Rose’s device. The sonic picked up on the communication settings programmed into it.  Encouraged by the readings, he began to take the casing apart.

 

“Whatcha doin’?” Rose asked as she entered the console room.  He’d been so focused on the tech in his hands he’d missed her footsteps.

 

“Some jiggery-pokery,” he replied.

 

“Why are you pokin’ at that?”

 

“I had a brilliant idea,” he told her with a smirk.  

 

Rose’s eyes widened.  “Why do you think I need that fixed?  I’m stayin’ with you. We have forever now.”

 

The Doctor sighed in relief.  “I was hoping you’d say that.”

 

Rose sat by him on the jumpseat, putting her head on his shoulder.  “I don’t know why you’d ever question it.”

 

_ Because that’d be just my luck _ , he thought.  Instead he said,  “I never should have.  At any rate….this is likely finished as a mode of transport but it is workable as a communication device.  Perhaps we can figure out a way for the console monitor to be used as a video chat between the universes. So you and your mum….”

 

“I love you,” Rose murmured before kissing him enthusiastically.  He nearly dropped the hopper and sonic. 

 

After the kiss ebbed away, the Doctor looked up at the rotor.  “What say you, Old Girl? Help us out?”

 

The hum changed into a joyful bubbling sound that made them laugh.

 

“That’s a yes, then.  Thank you. Mum will be thrilled!”

 

The console dinged, and the Doctor hopped up to check the monitor.  “Found a spot, then. Let’s get your mum. We can cross the void here before everything closes down.”

 

“I’ll get her.  She and Jenny have become best of friends, just so you know.”

 

“Thanks for the warning,” the Doctor quipped.  Rose kissed his forehead and started to walk away.  “Rose. You’re sure, then? There’s no guarantee this video chat will work…”

 

Rose nodded, tears in her eyes.  “We’ll make the hug goodbye count.  She knew I was always going to come back to you.”  He nodded, hanging his head. “Oh, stop. You’re feeling guilty because I could have stayed in Pete’s World and outlived everyone.  And because Mum and I have to say goodbye. Please, don’t. Let’s be happy we have forever. I know I am.”

 

“I am, Rose.  But, I…” Rose raised her eyebrow at him.  “.....best get your mum then.” She nodded sadly and left the room.

 

The TARDIS was patient as the Doctor fiddled with the hopper, attaching various console wires.  He’d figured out a few connections by the time the women came back to him. He looked warily at Jackie. 

 

“Ready to make the jump to the other dimension?” he asked.

 

“As ready as I’ll ever be.  I am anxious to see Pete and our boy.  Remember, I was pregnant last time you were...around.”

 

“Ah, right.  What did you name the little one?”

 

Jackie smirked.  “He’s called Doctor.”  The Doctor puffed up, preening a bit.  Rose made a strangled chuckling sound. “Oh, no you plum, he’s called Tony.”

 

The Doctor deflated.  Jenny joined in the laughter, which made it slightly more embarrassing.

 

“So, are you dumpin’ me on that bloody beach again?” Jackie asked.

 

The Doctor was annoyed by Jackie’s little ( _ very not funny)  _ joke, but wise enough not to tell her he’d choose Antarctica or Cleveland as an alternate if she wasn’t careful.  There actually was a thin point in the fabric of that universe near their Cleveland so it wasn’t that far-fetched. “I programmed the coordinates to get a bit closer this time.”  Abandoning the hopper, he began to throw switches. Jenny and Rose took their places at the console as well. “Best sit down, Jackie.” 

 

The ride through was rough, although not as horrible as it had been that first time they’d crossed dimensions.  It helped to have two extra pilots, and the Doctor was grateful to have Rose and Jenny. 

 

As they finally came to a stop, Jackie relaxed the claw grip with which she’d been holding onto the seat.  She was a white knuckle flyer normally, and this flight was anything but normal. The TARDIS remained powered up, so it was a definite improvement over their first visit.

 

Motioning for the others to stay back, the Doctor jogged to the door and cautiously peered outside.

 

“Well?” Jackie asked anxiously.  

 

“See for yourself,” he recommended.  Jackie raised her eyebrow skeptically.  

 

“Go on, Mum, it’s safe.  He wouldn’t let you go out if it wasn’t.  I’m right behind you.” Jackie hesitantly walked to the door, with Rose and Jenny following.  They stepped out into a wooded area in the dark.

 

“We’re in the woods at night?  Brilliant, Doctor, I don’t know where the bloody hell we are.  At least in bloomin’ Norway I knew how to get home. Probably won’t have any phone reception out here….” Jackie was winding up for a rant when Rose began to laugh.

 

“There’s Tony’s playset.  We’re in our own back garden, Mum,” Rose chuckled.

 

Jackie gaped for a second then said, “Oh.  Quite right.”

 

The realization that this was really goodbye hit Jackie and Rose at the same time. Tears filled Jackie’s eyes as she asked, “How much time do we have?  You only had a couple of minutes to talk to Rose before.”

 

Rose answered first. It was surprisingly easy for her to reach out with her new time senses.  “About fifteen minutes, Mum.”

 

The Doctor wondered if he’d ever get over being surprised by Rose.  “She’s right, Jackie,” he murmured. 

 

Jackie nodded, crying.  She and Rose embraced tightly.  “Are you sure, sweetheart? Do I even need to ask?”

 

Rose rested her head on her mother’s shoulder.  “S’where I belong, Mum.”

 

“I love you, Rose.  And I am so very proud of you.”

 

“You’re my hero, Mum.  Not just for jumpin’ universes.  For everything you’ve done to help me along the way from the very beginnin’.  I love you.” They took up a few of their precious minutes embracing silently.  Then Jackie took a deep breath and kissed Rose’s forehead. She looked at the Doctor.  “And you. You take good care of her.”

 

“We’ll take care of each other,” the Doctor assured her.  He arched an eyebrow, smirking. “Jackie Tyler...give me your mobile.”

 

“Why?  I thought it was impossible to make calls across the universes.  Wait, are you tellin’ me you could’ve been callin’ her all along, and here she was miserable, thinkin’ she’d never…”

 

“Mum!  He’s figuring it out now.  He has a theory about how to make it work by connecting the hopper to the TARDIS. We don’t know if it’ll work, but we’re gonna try,” Rose interrupted.

 

The Doctor boasted. “And it’s a pretty brilliant theory, if I do say so myself.  Maybe it’s not as impossible as we thought.” 

 

Jackie hesitated, then relinquished her phone.  

 

“Well, his ego’s still as big as ever,”  Jackie commented. The Doctor rolled his eyes, then began to sonic her phone.  “If I get a big roaming charge for this…”..

 

“It’ll be fine, Mum. We can’t promise anything...but keep your phone close by.”

 

They were distracted by the sound of people running toward them.  “Daddy, I told you I heard something!!”

 

Rose took a shaky breath at the sound of her brother’s tiny voice.  

 

“Jacks?” Pete called.

 

“Time to face the music, I suppose,” Jackie told Rose.  She met Pete halfway, accepting a quick hug from Tony on the way. 

 

“Rosie!!” Tony yelled, running straight into her arms.

 

The Doctor gazed at the Tyler siblings.  Rose had picked her brother up, hugging him close.  Tony was a miniature Rose, except for the reddish hair, which was cut in a familiar spiky style. “Nice hair,” the Doctor quipped.

 

“He’s seen a lot of pictures of you from my phone,” Rose said, smiling.  “You’re his favorite superhero. All the boys obsess over Batman but he only plays the Doctor.”  Tony grinned at him shyly and snuggled into Rose. 

 

“Ah, mate, I think Rosie’s the superhero,” he told the little boy.  “Look up.” Tony and Rose raised their faces up to see a sky full of stars through the leaves of the trees.  “Rose put those back.”

 

Rose’s eyes filled with tears.  “Don’t cry, Sissy,” Tony implored.

 

“They’re happy tears, Tony.  Well, happy and sad. I can’t stay long. I’m goin’ back with the Doctor, and we have to leave soon.”

 

“You’re gonna be gone,” Tony murmured.  Rose nodded. ”Cause you love him, right?”

 

“Oh, yes,” Rose answered.

 

“I love her too, Tony.  Very much. Is that okay?” The Doctor asked.

 

Tony nodded but hid his face in the crook of Rose’s neck.

 

“That’s my boy, asking the pertinent questions.  The time has come, hasn’t it, Rose?” Pete asked, walking towards them.

 

Rose met Pete in the middle, still carrying Tony.  They embraced, and Jackie joined them. 

 

The Doctor suddenly felt awkward, and wanting to give them the privacy of their goodbyes, he wandered over to Jenny.  “I don’t like goodbyes,” Jenny sighed. 

 

“I know.  They never get any easier.  I hope I can figure out a way to make Rose’s and Jackie’s phones connect.”  Something he’d forgotten occurred to him and he cried out, “Oh! I’m so thick!  Hold on, stay there….” He dashed back to the TARDIS, telepathically imploring the time ship to help him since time was of the essence.  The TARDIS was amenable, and she opened the door before he’d even approached the threshold. There were two cardboard boxes on the entrance ramp.  He lifted both easily and hurried back to the Tylers and Jenny. “Jackie, these are some mementos from your flat on the estates. I filled some boxes for Rose, and they’re on the TARDIS.  After I dropped Donna off, when I first met her, I went back...and Mo was there. She let me have some things.”

 

“Oh, you plum,” Jackie said fondly, reaching out to embrace him.  “Thank you.”

 

“Photos...knickknacks...souvenirs Rose brought you.  Except the Bazoolium. I chucked that into a supernova.  Your gran’s recipe book is in there too.” Jackie rewarded him with a wet kiss on the cheek.  The Doctor wasn’t fazed by it. He hugged her, then ruffled Tony’s hair. 

 

Jackie turned to Jenny and hugged her as well.  “And you. When you told me you’re this one’s daughter I thought Rose’d been gone long enough for himself to get her up the duff!”

 

Jenny snorted laughter and Rose interjected, “It’s only been a little over a day since I left!”

 

To Jenny, Jackie confided, “Lemme tell you about the time he took her out and brought her home a year later!”  The Doctor opened his mouth, poised for a rebuttal, but Jackie smiled warmly at Jenny. “Doesn’t matter how it happened.  I think you’re lovely, and now you’re a part of my family.”

 

Jenny embraced Jackie again.  “I’m proud to be a part of it.”

 

“It’s time.  We’re cuttin’ it close,” Rose interrrupted quietly.

 

There was another round of hugs, and a couple of pictures, and plenty of tears from all involved, including the Doctor.   And then Jenny, the Doctor, and Rose entered the TARDIS. The time ship dematerialized while the rest of the Tylers looked on.  Jackie gazed down at the family photo on her mobile. Jenny had taken the picture just before they left. 

 

“Stars are back, Mummy,” Tony pointed out, still sniffling through his tears.

 

“Quite right, lovey,” Jackie agreed.  

 

“Rosie did that,” Tony told his father.  Pete nodded, picking his son up. Together, the Tylers walked back to the mansion, under a sky of a billion stars.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter after this one! Thanks to all of you who are following along!


	8. Journey's End, Forever's New Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor and Rose's forever begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Saturday! I couldn't wait to post! I started this story last summer, when I saw the prompt. I lost my writing mojo for a bit, then I resurrected it when I saw it might work for DW Secret Santa. I had no idea that it would turn into one of the longest stories I've ever written. It is also the first time I used a beta, and I am very happy I decided to message Rose--Nebula to say "Hey, would you look at something I wrote?" She made it better than it would have been otherwise. Thank you!!

They made it through the void with just minutes to spare.  The flight was much smoother once they entered the vortex , so the three pilots were able to step away from the console.  Rose sank down onto the jumpseat. The Doctor joined her, wrapping his arms around her. He kissed her temple. “I’ll get right back to work on the video chat, love,” he promised.  She nodded, curling into his side. “Who knows, maybe you might be able to figure something out that I can’t. Jenny could too. You’re both brilliant. So...where to next? Or should we just take some time off in the Vortex.  You could explore the TARDIS, Jenny. My time ship is your time ship.” The TARDIS, who had already accepted Jenny as Hers, hummed happily.

 

Jenny was prowling restlessly around the TARDIS console.  “Dad…” she began, taking a deep breath. “I think I need to get back to Alohalarexia.  We left rather suddenly, and there’s still a war on, really. And there’s…..” She trailed off.

 

“The man who was with you?” Rose asked, raising her eyebrow.  Jenny smiled shyly and averted her eyes.

 

“Noah,” she murmured.

 

“So….spill it,” Rose said, smiling.  The Doctor glanced at her rather grumpily.  “Are you in love?”

 

Jenny rocked back and forth on her feet, looking rather like her father, and answered, “I don’t know.  I’m very fond of him. I haven’t been around long enough to know for sure.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially.  “He’s certainly a brilliant kisser.”

 

Rose laughed at Jenny’s confession and the even grumpier expression on the Doctor’s face.  “More information than I needed,” he muttered. Rose smacked his arm lightly.

 

“Oh, Doctor,” she chuckled.  “Don’t you think we should be heading back to the beach?”

 

“I suppose,” he sighed.  

 

“I was wondering….do you disapprove, then?  Of me leading the soldiers, that is,” Jenny asked.

 

“Jenny, I’m proud of you so no, I’m not.  Sometimes, there’s just no other way, especially when people are being oppressed by thick-headed gits like Peareggnol.  When you were on Messaline, you were in the middle of a pointless war, so this is not the same at all,” the Doctor reassured her.  “You’re going to help make Alohalarexia a better place,” He stood up, kissing Rose on the crown of her head. “Back to the beach it is, then. But...you’ll still be up for an adventure from time to time?”

 

“I love the running, Dad...and making people’s lives better is a nice bonus,” Jenny told him, grinning.  He engulfed her in a huge hug, lifting her off the floor and making her laugh.

 

The TARDIS made a bubbling noise and a door slid open on the console, a small mobile tucked inside.  The Doctor grinned and took it out. “I think our TARDIS plans for you to keep in touch. Whenever you want to run, let us know.”

 

“And if you need me, let me know,” Jenny reminded him.  She nodded and took her spot at the console. Rose joined them.  Together, they piloted the TARDIS to Alohalarexia.

 

******

 

The TARDIS materialized in the throne room.  The Doctor checked the viewscreen for a second time.  “Back within minutes of our sudden departure,” the Doctor announced proudly.  

 

It wasn’t long before there was a knock on the door and a voice calling,  “Jenny!”

 

Jenny ran for the door, grinning.  “Let’s check and see if it’s safe!” the Doctor called.  

 

“Think she can handle it, Doctor,” Rose murmured, taking his hand.  

 

“I know she can,” he grumbled.  “Just got her back, then she leaves again.”  He sighed. “She’s alive, though. And we can see her any time we want.  More than I ever expected to have.” Rose kissed his cheek. 

 

“And you’re not going to be alone once she leaves,” she reminded him.

 

“There’s you,” the Doctor murmured in her ear.   

 

Rose grinned at him, with her tongue making an appearance at the corner of her mouth. It sent a thrill through her to hear him recall her words from so long ago.  They’d had a long separation, and they were different than when they’d first met. But the more things changed, the more things stayed the same, even with a centuries-old alien.  She squeezed his hand and they stepped off the TARDIS.

 

*****

There was still a bit of a mess to deal with on Alohalarexia.  With the Doctor’s help, Prince Peareggnol and his entourage was escorted off the planet by the Shadow Proclamation. Peareggnol was outraged, and desperate not to be taken away, enough so that he slipped and referred to himself with a pronoun.  He was devastated. 

 

Prince Aaron was immediately installed as the leader of Alohalarexia, with Noah and his squad as advisors.  

 

The people of the village rejoiced in the return of Aaron to the planet.  They had many issues to deal with going forward, and Jenny wanted to stay and help.  

 

But before that could begin, the people wanted to celebrate.

 

The pyre was gone, replaced with fairy lights hanging from the trees, and boards laid down for a dance floor.  A small band played music. The atmosphere was joyous. Many people stopped Rose and the Doctor on the way to the dance floor, wanting to thank them for their part in helping to liberate them.  They were briefly separated in the crowd, and when the Doctor found Rose again by the nibbles, he let out a sigh of relief. 

 

“Anything banana flavored?” he asked.

 

“Afraid not.  No edible ball bearings either.”

 

“Ah.  Rather disappointing.”

 

“The beach is lovely, though.”

 

“You’re the most beautiful sight on this beach,” he murmured, tucking her hair behind her ear.  He leaned in and kissed her softly. When the kiss ebbed away, he murmured, “I love you.”

 

“And I love you, my Doctor.”  She looped her arms around his neck.  They could hear the music, and they began to sway to it, the Doctor resting his hands on her waist.  “Do you realize that we’re going to be alone...completely alone...for the first time in a very long time?”

 

Her low voice in his ear sent a thrill through him. “Quite right.”  He pulled her closer, nuzzling her neck. “I don’t know about you but...I think I’m ready to leave the beach.  Let’s say goodbye to Jenny.” They pulled apart reluctantly, and turned back to the party crowd scanning the scene for his daughter.

 

Jenny was laughing with Noah and Elyssia by the makeshift dance floor, and the Doctor took a moment to just watch her, smiling, happy, and so  _ alive. _  Things could have turned out so differently for all of them.  He thought back to the wisps of timelines that he’d caught glimpses of, and shuddered.  They all ended in him heartbroken and alone, losing himself and careening dangerously around the universe.  

 

“What?”  Rose had caught an impression of his emotions, and she squeezed his hand.  

 

“I’m all right.  Fine, in fact,” he said breezily, but his clever Rose was not put off easily.  She raised one eyebrow. “I can see what could have been, and it...frightened me.”

 

“You say what _ could have been _ .  Not what happened, or not what  _ is.   _ Don’t waste time wonderin’ what could have been.  We’ve lost so much time together as it is. We’ve been given a gift.  We have all the time we could ever want.”

 

The Doctor nodded, knowing she was right. “I just can’t believe that the gift won’t be taken away.”

 

Rose took both his hands and looked him in the eyes.  “It won’t. I’m stayin’ with you forever. And if somethin’ does happen, and we’re separated, you know we will always find our way back to each other.”

 

“Rose Tyler eats impossible for breakfast,” he returned with a small smile.

 

“You better believe it.  Now...shall we?” She tilted her head in Jenny’s direction.

 

They walked over to Jenny.  Her fingers were entwined with Noah’s.  They looked as though they were about to head out to the dance floor.  “Have you done any dancing yet? It’s brilliant. I can’t imagine anyone celebrating much of anything on Messaline.  I think I like this!” Her enthusiasm was catching, and so the Doctor and Rose did join them. 

 

After a while, it was time for more goodbyes, which neither the Doctor nor Jenny liked.  Rose thought she caught a look of longing in Jenny’s eyes as they entered the TARDIS. She wondered how long it would be before Jenny decided she wanted to do some running.  She was the Doctor’s daughter, after all. 

 

*******

 

The Doctor and Rose piloted the TARDIS into the vortex.  They found a nice, stable, safe spot to remain for a bit.  The TARDIS wrapped them in Her own special space of love and protection so that Her Thief and Her Wolf had some proper time alone.

 

Rose found her old room.  It had been untouched since she’d left.  Her old makeup remained as fresh as it had been before she had been ripped from this universe.   She had left behind clothes, which were still hanging in the closet or draped over a chair. There was no longer a bed, she was amused to note.  “So I suppose I’m not sleeping here?” she addressed the TARDIS. A door materialized to the left of her ensuite. She peered into the room on the other side, to see a king sized bed draped with a dark blue duvet.  The room was tastefully decorated in dark browns and blues. A false window on a wall to the left of the bed showed a beautiful night sky. Candles were lit in various spots around the room. Rose sent the TARDIS a telepathic wave of thanks.

 

She showered and when she stepped out into the steamy bathroom, she noticed that the pajamas she’d laid out had been switched to a dark blue satin chemise.  She slipped it on, smirking. 

 

Rose admired the nightie in the mirror, feeling a thrill of nerves.  It had been a very long time since they’d been together in this way. Right after Krop Tor they couldn’t deny their feelings for each other and they’d made love. Because life happened, they only were able to be together one other time, after the fireworks display at the Olympics.  That had felt almost desperate, as if if clinging to each other so closely could stave off the storm that was about to separate them. The next morning he’d taken her to see the sunrise on a planet where flying manta ray creatures lazily flapped over their heads. 

 

He had asked her how long she was going to stay with him.  She’d vowed forever. And now they actually had forever. 

 

Rose took one last look at herself in the mirror, then she entered their new bedroom.  The Doctor was there, pacing nervously back and forth. He wore soft brown pajamas and looked absolutely delicious.  His hair was a riot, no doubt from him running his hands through it nervously.

 

The Doctor heard Rose enter, and he he turned to look at her.  She was a vision in her chemise, her hair damp and wavy. She gave him a small smile, her tongue peeking out.  He met her halfway across the room. “You’re beautiful,” he said huskily. “I know we’ve already danced at the party, but I was wondering….” He looked up at the ceiling briefly, and “Moonlight Serenade” began to play through unseen speakers.   He held her close and they swayed to the music. She rested her head on his shoulder and pressed a kiss to his neck. The Doctor moaned lowly. Wanting to hear that beautiful sound again, Rose raised her head and blazed a trail of soft kisses from his neck to his Adam’s apple, then to the bit of chest exposed by the open collar of his pajamas.  Rose heard him sigh her name as he gently tipped her chin up to capture her lips in a soft, yet insistent kiss. It was rather like being sweetly devoured, the way he took his time with her. 

 

The Doctor slid his hands down to her hips and pulled her flush against him.  She groaned at the feel of him, and she moved against him, and then he was the one gasping.  All the while they kissed, until Rose pulled away to look him in the eyes. He was surprised to see tears there.

 

“What’s wrong, Love?” He asked.

 

“Nothing...it’s just….forever can really begin now, can’t it?”  She played with the buttons on his pajama shirt, slipping a couple open.

 

“Oh, yes,” the Doctor told her, scooping her into his arms and carrying Rose to their bed. Forever was off to a beautiful start.

 

*****

 

Rose woke slowly from the best sleep she’d gotten in years.  She was pleasantly cocooned in the soft sheets, and that was quite lovely.  The feeling of the Doctor spooned up behind her, the sensation of skin on skin, was even better.  As her mind drifted sleepily, she found herself recalling their lovemaking from the night before. Or however many hours ago it was.   _ There’s no day or night on the TARDIS, Rose,  _ she recalled him saying on more than one occasion.

 

The drowsiness was slowly giving way to arousal the more she thought of their passionate embrace. Behind her, the Doctor sighed, his breath tickling her neck.  He pulled her closer, and she wiggled back against him, eliciting a delicious raspy groan from him.

 

“Rose Tyler,” he growled, his hands beginning to wander.  

 

Rose rolled over onto her back to look into his beautiful brown eyes.  She urged him over her, and for a while, neither of them noticed the passage of time.  They were completely lost in each other.

 

*******

“Dozin’ off again?” Rose murmured.  She lay with her head on his chest, feeling the comforting double beat of his hearts under her cheek.  He stroked her hair gently. 

 

“Nope,” the Doctor answered softly, popping the “p”.  “Just thinkin’. Don’t need much sleep, me.” He imitated his former self’s voice, making Rose smile.  She kissed his chest. 

 

She whispered, “Penny for ‘em?”

 

The Doctor took a deep breath.  “I was remembering how you looked on Alohalarexia, walking towards me at our little wedding.”

 

“Oh, picturin’ me stumblin’ about in those bloody shackles, then?” she snickered.  

 

The Doctor kissed the crown of her head, pausing to breathe in her scent.  The moment was overwhelming, and his impressive gob failed him. He swallowed around the lump in his throat, feeling the sting of tears.  She propped herself up to look at him, stroking his sideburn. He finally found his voice. “You looked so beautiful in that brocade robe. It was similar to the ones worn on Gallifrey.”  He chuckled, looking her in the eyes. “You didn’t have weird, impractical headgear on, so that’s where the similarities end, but at any rate….. it made an impression.” 

 

“I did have my pointy, weapons-grade tiara,” she reminded him, and they both began to laugh. After a bit the Doctor stopped her laughter with a tender press of his lips to hers.

 

When the kiss ebbed away he whispered, as if it was a secret, “I wished it could’ve been a real wedding.  Rose...would you ever….I..would like to very much..if you would like…..”

 

She smiled even as her tears bloomed and fell, leaving a glittering path on her cheek.  “Are you proposin’, Doctor?”

 

“I could be, if you want.”

 

“Well….now that our lifespans match-“ Rose began.

 

The Doctor interjected, “I would want, even if they didn’t.  I want you for however much forever you have.” He cupped her cheek, wiping the tears away.  

 

“I’m glad we have a very long forever ahead of us, then,” Rose murmured.  He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. He sighed, and Rose sensed there was more he wanted to say.  “What, love?”

 

“On Gallifrey marriage was...frequently a business proposition between houses, at least with Time Lords.”

 

“Like royalty, I guess?” 

 

“Sort of.  Those were public handfasting ceremonies designed to show that the houses were united.  That’s what I did. I was fond of my wife….but you..I..” He sighed, his gob failing him again. “It’s different.  The Gallifreyans that married for love, bonded. They formed a telepathic link with each other. A permanent mental and emotional bond.”

 

“They were always in each other’s minds, then?”

 

“Yes.  I remember how you were not pleased when you realized the TARDIS was in your head when you first joined me, so…,”

 

Rose touched her fingers lightly to his lips, silencing him.  “I think I’ve grown since then, and I would love it. Doctor, the more I hopped between dimensions, and the more  _ you  _ I became, I noticed there was something missing. It was so cold and lonely in my mind.  I knew there was supposed to be more, somehow. I want that connection with you.”

 

The Doctor’s eyes widened.  “Of course...you developed telepathically along with the physiological changes.  Blimey, if you had been stuck in Pete’s World, you would have had that emptiness…”

 

Rose rolled her eyes in frustration.  “Stop. We’ve had this conversation already. You’ve nothing to be guilty for!  You didn’t know. And you might be brilliant but there’s no way you could’ve known.  Now tell about bonding. I wanna learn more.” 

 

“How did I get so lucky?” The Doctor breathed.  

 

“Maybe you deserve it.  And don’t argue the point. How does bonding work?”  Rose’s expression made it clear that she would no longer discuss whether the Doctor was deserving or not.  The Doctor couldn’t help but smile at his Rose. He wondered how he’d gotten along 903 years without her.

 

And thanks to Bad Wolf, he never would be alone again.  

 

He brushed her hair away from her temples, lightly touching the skin.  Already his mind yearned to reach out to hers, and by the slight gasp she gave, he realized she felt it as well.  His hearts began to race. This would be so much simpler than he’d ever imagined. His voice was husky as he told her, “You’d open your mind to me. Of course, you would keep anything you wouldn’t want me to see private.  Just imagine a door….”

 

“I won’t need to,” she told him firmly.  “And neither do you. I want all of you.”

 

“Rose,” he started his explanation of just why she wouldn’t want all of him, but she interrupted.

 

“I’d open my mind to you, and you’d open yours to me.  Our timelines would link and a part of me would always be with you, and you with me,” Rose told him.

 

The Doctor gaped.  She’d just given his explanation, albeit in a simplified form.  “How did you know…”

 

She smiled.  “Just came to me.  Like an instinct. I s’pose I may have a few new ones now.  But I don’t know everything about it, so you still need to talk.  Spill it, Time Lord.”

 

He laughed through teary eyes, “You are a brilliant woman, Rose Tyler.”  He leaned in to kiss her deeply, pulling her on top of him, wrapping his arms around her.  

 

After several long moments Rose pulled away.  “Before we get too carried away….” 

 

“Too late for that,” the Doctor snickered, moving against her, causing her to moan quietly.  

 

“Is that how it would work?” she asked, trying to focus his attention.

 

“We’ve done this twice now since you’ve been back and you’re wondering how it works?  Were you not paying attention?” he asked, his eyebrow quirked.

 

Rose laughed, but rolled off him.  “You know what I’m talking about, you numpty.”

 

“Okay….yes.  Bonding. Right, then….we’d form a permanent link between our minds.  We’d need to be touching to hear each other’s thoughts, at least for a while yet.  We’d need to build up that ‘muscle’, so to speak. Eventually we could project our thoughts to each other.  I don’t think we’d take long to get to that point.”

 

“Sounds very useful if things went pear- shaped.  Might have saved me from wandering off.”

 

The Doctor snorted.  “You mean if it went Peareggnol-shaped, don’t you?”  Rose groaned, but she still laughed at his joke. “And yes, it will definitely be useful.  Also quite pleasurable.”

 

Rose’s voice lowered seductively.  “Oh, do tell.”

 

“We’d feel each other’s….pleasure.”  The Doctor’s cheeks flushed a bit at this revelation and Rose’s answering smile was positively sinful.  “Rethinking that not wanting to get carried away thing, are you?”

 

“Absolutely not.  Now I wanna know how soon we can do it.” 

 

The Doctor grinned broadly at her enthusiasm.  “We can do the bonding right now….or we could have small ceremony with witnesses, if you like.  It could even be part of an Earth wedding ceremony. Do you think you’d want one of those, too? Might be a bit lovely, being married in both our traditions.”

 

Rose frowned.  “I don’t need a wedding, or witnesses….I want do this privately with you as soon as we possibly can.”

 

The Doctor sensed there was more, so he prodded,  “Really, you wouldn’t?”

 

Rose sighed.  She figured she’d might as well tell him.  “Mum and Dad couldn’t be there in person. I suppose we could video call, if we can get it to work, but….”

 

“Wouldn’t be the same,” The Doctor finished.

 

“I don’t need all that,” she reassured him.  He didn’t miss the look of sadness in her eyes. 

 

“Welllll……” he drawled, kissing her forehead. “Can I call you my fiancée now?”

 

She smiled, her tongue making an appearance at the corner of her mouth.  “I would love that, Doctor. But I want to bond with you. Right now isn’t soon enough for me.”

 

“We will….but I do want to give you one Earth tradition….”. He leaned over to the bedside table and opened a drawer, reaching in.  His arm went in up to his elbow, making Rose laugh.

 

“Everything is bigger on the inside around here, isn’t it?” 

 

The Doctor touched his tongue to the back of teeth, concentrating as he fished around.  He finally pulled out a small box. “Ah-hah! Brilliant! Of course, when I finally need this it ends up at the bottom of the drawer……” He opened the small box to reveal a gorgeous sapphire set in a simple gold band.  

 

Rose gasped.  “Oh, it’s beautiful.  How long have you had it for it to be at the bottom of that drawer?”

 

“Oh, ages,” he said breezily.  When she raised her eyebrow he revealed, “You’ll know anyway after we bond...but between Krop Tor and the Olympics.  After we made love the first time.” 

 

“Oh, my Doctor,” she sighed. “Better late than never.”  The Doctor nodded in agreement.

 

He took her hand. “Now.  How long are you gonna stay with me?”  Sliding the ring onto her finger, he locked eyes with her.

 

Rose grinned brilliantly and answered, “Forever.”  They embraced, kissing each other breathless. When they finally surfaced, the Doctor brushed his fingers against her temple again, and she reached out to touch his.  

 

“Are you sure?” he asked.  “The things you’d see in my mind might make you regret it.”

 

“Never.  I’m here to help you bear the burden, remember?  There’s me. And there always will be.”

 

The Doctor sighed shakily.  “I love you, Rose Tyler.”

 

“I love you, my Doctor.  I want all of you. Bond us.”  He placed his fingers on her temples.  She mirrored his position. 

 

And so, he opened his mind to her, and she instinctively opened hers to his.  He was overwhelmed by her light and love warming all the dark corners of his mind.  She was floored by the sensation of him occupying a space in her mind she hadn’t even known she needed filled until recently.   Their timelines bound together in a beautiful quick crochet of his silver threads and her gold. As the sensation faded, it was replaced by arousal, and they fell into an intimate embrace.  It was like nothing they’d ever experienced.

 

The Doctor and Rose held each other afterwards, basking in the warmth of their new bond.  

 

*******

They dragged themselves out of bed for breakfast a long while later.  They began to tinker with the hopper and between the two of them, with the TARDIS’ help, managed to figure out a way to connect Rose’s phone.  Another hour’s worth of work later, and Rose was hesitantly ringing her

mother.  She held the Doctor’s hand as a connection was made, and Jackie’s phone began to ring.  They both laughed joyfully as the phone was answered by Tony, who was quite confused. Tony’s little face filled the viewscreen, until Jackie caught him.  Rose and her mother talked animatedly, hung up, and Jackie dialed Rose just to see if it would work again. It did. A huge worry was lifted off of both their shoulders.  And the Doctor felt like a bit of a hero for being able to figure it out. 

 

Later on, Rose was reorganizing the huge closet (a gift from the TARDIS)  in their bedroom while the Doctor slipped out to the console room to check out a theory that had come to him while showering with his new bondmate.  (He had managed to keep most of his attention- a good ninety-five point six percent of it- on his lovely Rose.) The rest of his impressive Time Lord brain was working out a puzzle.  

 

The hopper connected to the console provided them the means to call Jackie on a regular basis.  Torchwood had gotten very close to the technology the Time Lords had originally used to travel between the dimensions.  The Torchwood tech never would have worked if the the reality bomb hadn’t existed, so Davros the cosmic matchmaker had actually done them a favor. The only thing Rose and Pete hadn’t had when they created the hoppers were access to the Doctor’s knowledge and a TARDIS. 

 

But now, the hopper had the benefit of both.  The Doctor began to scan the universe, looking for a weak place that the hopper tech could exploit.  He set the scanner to automatic, and it reached out across the vortex. “Let me know if you find something, Old Girl.  If I could figure out a way for Rose to have her mum, if just for a day, in person.”

 

The TARDIS hummed sympathetically.  

 

“Thanks, Old Girl, for all you did.  I know you played a huge part in this.  When we landed on that planet I had no idea I’d come home with Rose.  Or that we’d bond.“ The time rotor changed from green to pink and yellow, and the TARDIS’ hum became a joyful, bubbly sound.  “But I’d like to give Rose more, if I can.”

 

“You’ll give Rose what?” Rose said as she entered the console room.  “What are you two cookin’ up?”

 

The Doctor smiled.  “That’s for me to know, and you to find out, Wife.” 

 

“Lookin’ forward to it, Husband.  For now, though...I’d love to locate some chips.”

 

The Doctor laughed.  He was glad that some things never changed.  “Shall we?” he asked, entering the coordinates.  

 

“Allons-y,” she answered, taking her place at the console.

 

And together, they sent the TARDIS into the vortex, in search of the best chips in the universe.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and comment. You are very much appreciated! On Wednesday, I will post "Midnight Memories," the second story in the Reunited verse!

**Author's Note:**

> Visit me on Tumblr! My fanfic blog is lizann5869.


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